The Electric Devil Pirates
by JoaniHagauri
Summary: All her life, Natalia was told 'You can't' by her father. Now, it's her turn to say 'You can't.' Or, 'You can't stop me.' After all, what better way to disprove a pigheaded male than to become the Pirate Queen?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I'd like to throw it out there that Eiichiro Oda owns One Piece. Most of the characters in this story are original, but the setting is not. The Grand Line... North Blue... East Blue... West Blue... South Blue... All Blue... Skypeia... Luffy... Nami... Zoro... Sanji... All belong to Oda-sensei. As do all those cool characters and inventions I forgot to(was too lazy to) mention.**

~~~~~~~~~~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chapter One: Inherited Dreams

~~~~~~~~~~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was noon on the small island. The white mansion loomed ahead of everything else, towering over the trees and overlooking the vast sea. A man that looked to be in his late forties ran about, calling a certain dreamy redhead's name.

"Hellllllllooooooooo! Natalia! Where are you? It's lunch time! Cook-chan is waiting for you!" He cupped his hands around his mouth and tried again, after receiving no answer. "NAAAATAAAALIAAAA!"

Said cook walked calmly out to the front porch, watching her husband call feverishly for his employer's daughter. "Darling, come inside. Your own lunch is getting cold, and I already made Natalia a bento to take with her today."

The man, Malcom, frowned. "Jackie, you let her get away with too much. A young lady of her stature…"

"I know, I know." The cook rolled her eyes. "Her life is supposed to be all work and no play, right?"

Malcom reeled back. "N-No! I-I mean…"

"She's just a child, Malcom. Relax a little! Be glad she's not half as bad as we were when we were her age." Jackie smiled kindly. "Come eat."

Malcom shuddered visibly, as if picturing what kind of children the couple had been. He let a stiff, forced smile fill his face. "Yes dear."

~~oo~~O~~oo~~

Natalia looked up sharply.

"NAAAATAAAALIAAAA!" Malcom's familiar cry filled the air. After this shout, no more followed.

Natalia relaxed, and looked back to her work. "Just another week or two," she told the wood, "and we'll be on our way to One Piece." Her hands aching from months of hard work, she sighed and found the bento Jackie had made up for her. "If Malcom's calling for me already, I guess it's lunch time."

Her back to the sun, Natalia sat in the cool grass, cooled by the gentle wind, and looked to her masterpiece.

A large ship, tied to the inside of a cave, docked in a cove, loomed there, nearing completion. Natalia smiled, remembering the shattered and beaten condition the ship had been in before all of Natalia's inexperienced handiwork had been administered. In fact, the ship was now completed, and the simple fact that the ship was now bobbing before her in the water meant that her handiwork was adequate.

However, being the perfectionist she was, Natalia wasn't satisfied. Sure, her work was 'adequate' but it needed to be better. She knew from experience that this ship deserved it. She finished her bento, abandoning her happy thoughts of riding and sailing her ship to the next island.

Driven by a familiar urge, she made her way to the deck, then below it, walking down the rooms both designed and constructed by herself, and made her way to the captains quarters.

On the desk, placed gingerly in a cushioned box, was the thing that would make her journey possible. Her mother's Log Pose. She smiled, and opened the drawer. It was comforting, even though Natalia never planned on using it, to have an Eternal Pose set for Sauna Island. She smiled endearingly at it, then shut the drawer.

"Time to get back to work!" She proclaimed. "I need to start bracing the storage area of the ship, fixing up the kitchen, cleaning and then I'll let myself take a trial run around the island, then I can be gone forever!" After the proclamation, Natalia jumped and squealed in excitement. "So close! So close!"

~~oo~~O~~oo~~

"Malcom, she won't come back by your sheer force of will." Jackie said, patting her husband on the back. "Just give her time. She does this everyday, you know."

Malcom sighed. "I don't know what I've done wrong. I'm sure if her father could be here daily, like I can, the girl would be a well-mannered child! Instead, she wastes all her time God knows where, doing God knows what!"

"Relax. She'll be fine. She's a strong young girl, and she's got a whole island to explore. I'm sure she's just taking a nature walk." Jackie replied, optimistically.

Malcom smiled warmly at his wife. Every now and then, she reminded him exactly why he loved her so much, and why he put up with the stress of loving a child that wasn't his. He patted her hand. "I know, I know. Still, that girl's making my hair gray very early."

Jackie smiled, "Don't blame Natalia for your age."

Malcom frowned, but didn't reply to her tease, instead, looking over the vast ocean.

~~oo~~O~~oo~~

Natalia wiped her forehead. She'd gotten a lot done. The storage room now had half of a second layer, just in case the first decided to leak. She smiled at her work, and decided to take a short break.

Up on deck was a wreck. Tools were scattered everywhere, and dust had settled over everything. Natalia picked up a bucket and walked around, dropping the tools in as she went. Once that was done, she got the broom and went over the deck, making a neat pile in the corner. Before she could figure out what to do with that, a loud cry split the air.

"NAAAATAAAALIAAAA!"

I frowned and looked at the sun's position. It shouldn't be time for dinner, so maybe…? Was something wrong?

Natalia, driven by the thought of her home in flames and Malcom and Jackie burning, ran towards the house. Natalia made the ten minute trip in four, speeding to a stop beside Jackie. "Wha…? What…? What's wrong?" Natalia heaved.

Jackie put one hand on Natalia's cheek, framing her face. "Now look what you've gone and done. You're all covered in dirt, mud and sweating like mad! I don't think I've ever seen your face as red, either! Go up and take a shower. Put on your party dress. We have a special surprise at dinner."

Natalia raised an eyebrow. _A special surprise? I wonder…_ Now excited, she ran up into the house, up the hallway, into her bedroom and back out with her party dress.

Her party dress wasn't something she liked to use often. It was pure white with a sea foam blue trim. It looked too… practiced. If you wear a party dress, it was Natalia's opinion that something had been planned. And planning takes all the spontaneity out of the picture, which therefore makes any evening perfectly dull.

However, if you're told to put on a party dress for a surprise, then who knows what's next. Either Natalia's friends in town had been invited for dinner or…

Natalia stood sharply, ignoring the water that was getting too hot. _Oh no… if dad's coming home then I can't leave!_

Natalia clenched her fists. She and her father had a lot of fights, and too many times when dad came close to discovering Adeline's Pride (which is what she'd named her ship). With a ship too near completion in the covered cove, dad would most likely see it on his way in. Natalia shook her head fiercely, sending water flying. "No, no, no, no, no, no! This can't be happening!"

However, even if he was coming, there was still a chance he wouldn't see Adeline's Pride and it always meant his office would be unlocked and open for Natalia to steal wanted posters.

She turned the shower off after washing up and dried herself, thinking about how many new pirates had appeared since last time her father had returned, and how many bounties had been raised. Natalia almost squealed in excitement, throwing on her party dress and brushing her hair. She secured it by tying two strands around her head in the back so her hair wouldn't fall in her face. She did this every time her father came home, and every time Malcom took a picture.

_Maybe it's best he comes. I can take some pictures of everyone and take them with me… I'll miss Malcom and Jackie…_

Natalia went to the dining room and found Malcom. He cooed over how beautiful she looked and how much she'd grown since she'd last worn the dress. She rolled her eyes, still smiling. "You say all this every time I wear the dress."

"Malcom!" Jackie called. "Come help set the table! Dinner's almost ready." Natalia smiled as the man hurried off, helping the maids set the table. They set four seats, two on one side, one on the other, and one at the head of the table, which she recognized as her father's normal seat.

Natalia crossed her fingers behind her back, closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Please, oh please," she whispered, "don't let him find Adeline's Pride, and don't let us fight tonight."

As the front door opened and shut, Natalia stiffened. The maids hastened, placing the food on the table and picking at the flowers one last time. Jackie and Malcom stood in front of their seats, and the maids aligned themselves against the wall behind them.

A deep husky voice boomed, "Where's my baby?"

Natalia turned around, unable to help the smile that spread across her face. Even though they fought, she couldn't help but love her father. "Hi, dad." She greeted, pretty much ruining all the formality Malcom and Jackie had worked to set up.

Natalia's father was dressed in his marine uniform, badges and honors hanging from his jacket. He looked as strong and as brave as ever, and despite her dreams, Natalia felt she'd always love him. She smiled wider at the thought of her dreams.

"Natalia! How are you?" Her father asked as he swept her into a hug. "You look beautiful! You've grown so much! How long has it been? …I think last time I was here it was Christmas. The marines don't let me take too many breaks, you know?" He sighed, "You look so gorgeous! I trust Jackie and Malcom are taking care of you properly?"

Natalia nodded. "As always. They've been looking after me well for the past three years."

Her father frowned, smoothing her red hair. "It's been hard." Was all he replied.

"Well enough of this reunion, I'm hungry!" Malcom said, trying to break the tense atmosphere the statement provided. "Let's eat."

Natalia and her father both smiled and took their seats.

"Mm! Jackie, this smells delightful!" Natalia's father exclaimed.

"Thank you, it's my pleasure to make it, Admiral Thompson. It's so rare for you to come home, we've missed you!" Jackie said, smiling.

Admiral Thompson wiped his mouth after taking a bite of Jackie's lamb. Natalia shuddered, _hadn't I passed our only lamb in the pasture this morning? _She placed the fork back on the plate and looked to her father.

"Well, I almost didn't get my week off at all! Unfortunately, the Straw Hat Pirates almost beat me here, but I think we put a pretty decent hole in their ship. I'm only upset that I didn't get the chance to fight Monkey D. Luffy myself!" Admiral Thompson laughed a booming laugh that made the chandelier shudder.

"Monkey D. Luffy?" Natalia asked. "You can't be serious! Isn't he the one… I think… Smoker is after?"

Admiral Thompson nodded proudly. "My crew was a bit timid at first but I ordered them to load the canon and in one perfectly aimed shot they were down!"

"You mean you actually sunk them?" She asked, "Sugoi!"

"Well, I, er…" He smiled, "I didn't actually see them go down and where we hit their ship it's possible they repaired the hole in time so they didn't sink, but I'm pretty sure."

Natalia almost revoked her amazement. Instead she nodded and turned her attention back to her food.

"But don't worry! My men have this place surrounded! There's no way any pirate ship will get in or out!" Admiral Thompson and Malcom both laughed heartily.

Natalia froze, her fork still in her mouth. _That means I'll single handedly have to beat my father's men… Oh no! He'd never forgive me, and I don't even think it's possible! But if I don't get out here soon, Adeline's Pride…_

Natalia made up her mind. Tonight, regardless of the work her ship needed, she'd leave. Tears came to Natalia's eyes, and she blinked them away furiously. _I'll miss them so much!_

~~oo~~O~~oo~~

"Oi! Usopp! Hurry, will you? We're going down!" Roronoa Zoro, the infamous ex pirate hunter, yelled.

"I'm going as fast as I can!" The self-proclaimed great captain yelled, "I can't go any faster without more help!"

Sanji, the wonderful, flirtatious cook from the Baratie, was holding boards in place as Usopp hammered them. Chopper, the reindeer doctor from Drum Island, handed them boards as needed. Luffy, the Going Merry's captain, swallowed impossibly large amounts of water, ran up the stairs and spat them out over the deck. At this rate, the Going Merry, was going down.

"We can't spare anymore help! Nami and I are trying to keep the ship afloat! Hurry up so you can get up here and help too!" Zoro yelled, a vein popping out of his forehead.

"Zoro!" Nami yelled. "Zoro! Come up here! I need you to help with the sail!"

"I'll do it!" Luffy yelled, mouth filled with water.

"No!" Sanji yelled, "Get the water out first! Let the shitty marimo do it!"

Zoro ran up the stairs and left the others to frantically run about. Suddenly, four hands popped out of the walls, securing the board Usopp was handling. Robin, the frightening archeologist, appeared. "Sanji, Chopper, Nami-chan needs you up on deck. A storm came out of nowhere. I can help Usopp."

The said crewmates nodded and ran up past Robin as her flowering arms sprouted to hand Usopp more boards. Once more, Luffy ran to gulp down more water and spew it out on deck.

On the deck, Nami, squinting to read the Log Pose, shouted out orders. Chopper, Zoro and Sanji, each scurried out to obey, while Luffy ran in and out of the leaking room.

After half an hour of frantic shuffling, the ship was patched, and the storm had calmed. The Straw Hat pirates were passed out on deck, each heaving. Even Sanji couldn't muster the energy needed to praise Nami-san's excellent navigating skills, or Robin-san's wonderfully useful gift.

Nami, the only one with energy remaining, pointed tiredly out in front of them. "An island." She announced. "We'll land there, stock up, work on the ship and relax for a while."

Luffy, revived by this information, jumped up to the ship's figurehead. He looked to the island shouting, "Sugoi! Let's go!"

~~oo~~O~~oo~~

That night, Natalia prepared to leave. She wrote a letter to her father, to Malcom and to Jackie. It had been hard to write, because halfway through it, she began crying, then sobbing. It was harder to leave than she'd thought. Tears blurred a few words, but Natalia was dead set in her decision to leave. She stood. "If I don't do this, I'll back out." She said, grabbing a dagger off her table. She cut a shallow 'x' over her heart, "Mom, I will fulfill your dream. And I will prove dad wrong."

Natalia smiled into the mirror, pressing a washcloth to her chest, hoping her new mark would scar. "Now I'll never forget!"

Natalia packed her suitcase, taking any clothes she liked, all her pictures, and some night clothes.

Natalia's next act made her feel so ashamed, but she had to. Everything in the fridge, she put in a bucket, along with bread and some fruits. She placed her note on the counter and looked at it for a moment. She took a deep breath, turned, and left.

~~oo~~O~~oo~~

"Oi, Luffy." Zoro said, looking out the window of the cabin. "There's another pirate ship coming in."

"So?" Luffy said, in such a manner to ensure his crew he was about to start whining. "I'm hungry! When's Sanji going to come back with the meat?"

Zoro sighed, looking away from the window. "I don't know, Luffy, give the shitty cook some time."

"Why can't we go outside?" Luffy asked, rolling on the floor of the cabins.

"Because Nami said not to." Zoro replied. "We're wanted men, if they see us, we could cause a panic."

"That's never stopped us before." Luffy mumbled, childishly. "Besides! Usopp, Chopper and Nami got to go!"

"But Robin's staying with us."

"I'm bored." Luffy stated bluntly.

Out by the ship, Sanji, Chopper, Nami and Usopp stood, looking at Sanji. Just a little ways ago they'd been walking smoothly with mild chatter, but now Sanji had stopped dead mid-sentence.

"Sanji-kun?" Nami asked. "What's wrong?"

He looked at the same pirate ship Zoro had pointed out to Luffy. He noticed a canon ball sized hole in the side and frowned. Some of the pirates were sneaking out, lining up with the obvious intent to steal the Going Merry. Sanji took a drag off his cigarette. "They can handle it. I don't want to damage the food I bought."

The others nodded their agreement. To their surprise, however, the swordsman and the captain flew out of the Going Merry. Luffy landed on his head, asleep, and Zoro on his stomach, his face in the dirt. Zoro grunted, lifted himself and looked up at the Going Merry which was now merrily going to sea.

The five conscious crew members gawked as their ship sailed in the night, pirates whooping and hollering at their steal. Nami kicked Luffy in the head. "Baka, baka, baka, baka! How could you allow this to happen? How are we going to get off this island? Baka!"

Robin, off to the side in the grass, cleared her throat. "There's a ship." She pointed into a covered cove across a small gap of water, where Adeline's Pride silently loomed in the moonlight.

~~oo~~O~~oo~~

When Natalia made it out of the house, she was met by the haunting sight of Adeline's Pride easing out to sea. Natalia gasped and screamed, "No!" She broke into a dead run, still grasping her clothes and supplies. "No, no, no, no, no, no, no!"

Her one and only chance was to run alongside Pride and jump on deck when she got the chance. Seeing as Natalia was a hammer, (i.e. a person who couldn't swim) she'd drown immediately after hitting the water, if that happened at all.

Natalia didn't think about drowning for more than a second. This ship… she had to… Natalia clenched her fists and screeched out another battle cry as she threw her things aboard Adeline's Pride.

On board, Zoro winced as something hard hit him in the head. He looked at the floor to see apples, oranges and other foods scattered beside him. He picked up an orange and looked at it questioningly. He grunted as a much heavier source knocked him to the ground.

When Natalia opened her eyes, she was grateful to see the first thing she saw was not water, and was in fact an orange. An orange clutched in the hand of a pirate she'd landed on.

Instinctively, her manners made her jump of and bow, repeating, "Gomen nasai!" When the pirate stood and dusted himself off she shook her head and slapped her forehead, then pointed at him accusingly. "Wait! I take that back! I'm not sorry- you're stealing my ship!"

Zoro blinked. Suddenly a redhead had fallen out of nowhere, knocked him down, then shouted apologies, then just started yelling. He looked around. "This is yours?"

Natalia was furious. "Yes this is my ship! Why…?" She couldn't find the words to describe this despicable act.

"Oi. Zoro. Who's that?" The captain asked, leaning backwards on a barrel he was sitting on to get a better look.

Natalia mechanically looked at him, then almost fell back into the water in recognition. "Straw Hat Luffy!" she screamed, "And you're…!" she pointed to Zoro, then the three swords, then back at the man's face.

Now sitting cross-legged on the deck, Zoro smirked.

"Roronoa Zoro!" Natalia was on the verge of tears. Why couldn't normal people hijack her ship? She could defend herself easily against them, but men with such devastating power? She wouldn't stand a chance.

"Oi! Luffy! Help out! We've got to catch up to the Going Merry! That was a gift from Kaya!" Usopp called. "We need to go faster! Faster!"

"A gift…?" Natalia repeated, curiously.

"Nami-swan! Robin-chwan!" Sanji called, swirling out of the kitchen with a tray of sweets. "I've prepared some desserts for our lovely ladies while we catch up to those thieves!"

"He's calling them thieves?" Natalia muttered under her breath with a scoff.

"What was that you shitty marim- ooh! Who's this lovely lady?" Sanji said, instantly in front of Natalia, clutching her hands.

"I'm Natalia. I own this ship." I replied. "Which, by the way, you've stolen."

"Stolen?" Sanji exclaimed, the heart in his eye breaking. "No, no, no, my dear, you've gotten it all wrong! We were simply borrowing this lovely vessel to retrieve our own."

"Mm hm." Natalia agreed, "Borrowed. Without asking. Which is, technically, stealing."

"M-minor technicality." Sanji whimpered, his lovey-dovey heart eye dissolving so he could see the murderous intent sparkling in Natalia's eyes.

"Gomen, Miss, but may we borrow this ship? At least long enough to recover our own?" Robin asked, politely.

Natalia sighed, "Fine. But don't expect any help from me."

Robin smiled. "Wouldn't dream of it."

"Ooooooooiiiiiiiiiiii!" Luffy yelled, enthusiastically. "There it is! There it is! The Going Merryyyyyyyy!"

The little chimp stood excitedly. Zoro stood as well, letting his hand come to rest on the hilt of his sword.

Natalia hoped the chills that paraded up and down her spine weren't too obvious.

Sanji joined Luffy and Zoro, focusing on the Going Merry instead of the redhead.

"Now, about our attack plan." Usopp said, trying to start a huddle. "I think we should try to be as inconspicuous as possible then-"

"!" Luffy yelled, drawing the attention of those that had stolen his ship. "Give us back our ship, you lousy-"

"Hey! Luffy! What do you think you're doing?" Usopp asked. "We had a plan!"

Natalia noticed the enemy pirates loading a cannon on the Going Merry. "H-Hey! Don't let that cannon hit this ship!"

She wasn't worried about sinking, that was the least of her problems. She was terrified of loosing Adeline's Pride. If she survived being knocked off the boat, that would be a fate worse than death.

Luffy nodded in understanding, just as Usopp screamed out in fear. "Oh no! That's my newest invention! The Usopp Smoke Bomb! It'll take a chunk out of a ship, then cover the immediate area with a thick cloud of smoke! They'll get away!"

"It doesn't matter!" Natalia cried. "They have nowhere to go but the next island, and if your ship is out of supplies they'll stop to stock up! As long as that cannon ball doesn't hit us, we can and will catch up!"

Usopp looked at Natalia, unsure.

She hit his head, "Just save my ship!"

It was then, everyone just decided to go along with Natalia's plan. Seeing as the Going Merry was out of supplies, it was extremely necessary that the pirates stop there. Either that, or they'd starve or dehydrate, leaving the Going Merry to float along helplessly. Natalia couldn't help but hope that'd be the case.

Luffy stretched his body abnormally to fill the space where the bomb should've hit.

Unfortunately for Natalia, Luffy was a moron.

The cannon ball blasted it's way into the side of the ship, easily breaking through the thin layer of boards protecting the side.

Tears pricked at Natalia's eyes, as smoke filled the air, easily blinding the ship it's passengers.

Luffy, knocked back by the impact, lay on his back, trying to see clearly again. "G-gomen…" he muttered.

Natalia, blinded by fury, clenched her fists, trying hard not to explode.

"Usopp will get your ship patched up right away, okay?" Nami said, seeing the anger plastered on the younger girl's face.

"Hey! Why do I have to?" Usopp whined.

"Because! It was your stupid smoke bomb that got us into this mess, and look! You've made her cry!" Nami yelled.

"No." Natalia said softly. "I'll fix the ship."

"B-but…" Nami said, defensively. It was the sharpshooter's fault in the first place.

"It's my ship. I built this with my own two hands. I can repair a hole. Just…" She shivered, pushing herself harder and harder not to grab Zoro's swords and slice someone's head off or to burst into sobs. "just go wait in the storage room. I'll call your navigator out when the smoke clears."

"B-but…!" Nami said, taking a step forward.

"Just go!" Natalia screamed. Her scream echoed around her, loud enough it surprised her when a secondary cannon wasn't fired.

The males rushed downstairs, and Robin followed calmly. Nami hesitated, holding her hand out as if trying to find a way to comfort the ship's owner.

"Just. Go." Natalia ordered, too depressed to scream it again.

Finally, Nami dropped her hand and gave Natalia a fleeting glance. _What have we done?_

~~oo~~O~~oo~~

The sound of Natalia making her repairs echoed below the deck. Usopp, out of boredom, had resumed putting up a second layer on the storage room. Luffy, bored out of his mind and unable to stand the stuffy air and lack of a breeze, took to bothering his shipmates.

"Oi. Oi, Zoro."

"What?"

"Wanna play a game?"

"No."

Dejected, Luffy turned to Sanji.

"Oi. Oi, Sanji."

"What do you want, you little pest?"

"I'm hungry. Isn't there any meat?"

"No. I'd have to cook it and that girl locked us in here."

Once more feeling disappointed, Luffy turned to his navigator.

"Oi. Oi, Nami."

"Huh." Nami replied. She didn't lift her head, and had her forehead resting on her knees.

"What's wrong?"

"I just feel so… guilty. Did you see the look on that poor girl's face?"

"You mean that evil look?" Usopp asked. "I've never been more scared in my life! That girl has a death glare to kill! And when she yelled for us to go…!"

"She's scary." Chopper concluded.

Robin looked out a porthole absentmindedly. "I think this ship means something very important to her. She looked especially bad when the cannon ball hit."

The door to the storage room swung open, and the subject of their conversation stepped in the room. "Navigator, the smoke's cleared out."

Nami nodded and hurried past Natalia to get started.

"You have a cook, don't you?" She asked, seeming distant and as if she didn't care.

"Yes!" Sanji said, hopping up, "I'm ready to cook you something wonderful!"

Ignoring this, Natalia continued. "Fix something for your crew. It's about time for breakfast. Don't break anything in the kitchen."

"Yes!" Sanji replied, "I'll make you the best meal you've ever-"

"It's not for me." Natalia said, silencing the flirtatious cook. "Just cook for your crew, let them eat, and leave me alone."

Sanji was shocked. This ship must've really meant something to put a person in this kind of state. He rolled up his sleeves and went off to find the kitchen as the sound of halfhearted hammering resumed.

~~oo~~O~~oo~~

"Hey…" A hand shook Natalia from her sleep.

"…h-huh?" She asked looking up as a certain blond chef shook her awake.

"I made you some lunch. I would've insisted upon you eating breakfast, but you were fast asleep by the time I finished! I'm sorry we couldn't help anymore, but everything's under control. Nami-swan said we're coming out of your island's stable climate, so we're on our way!" Sanji gave Natalia her plate with a grin. "I almost didn't wake you either. You looked so cute!"

Natalia stood, accepting the plate. She noticed she'd been moved from the edge of her construction site, where she'd been taking a break, and her work had been finished. With her free hand, she felt the smooth wood. You could hardly tell there'd been a hole at all! She smiled absently, but it disappeared as she realized just how horrid she'd been to these people. They'd repaired the damage they'd caused, apologized and she'd still treated them horribly!

Sanji leaned against the railing, looking up at the sky while taking a drag off a cigarette. "They don't blame you." He replied, as if reading Natalia's mind. "They figured there was some sort of history behind this ship, and came to the conclusion they would've done the same thing. Usopp finished your patchwork, which was actually pretty great."

Natalia smiled. She had gotten a bunch of books written by shipwrights to build and be able to take care of this ship. Also, she'd watched a few real shipwrights in their workplace, learning. "I don't think I could've done better." She admitted.

"He'd disagree." Sanji smiled. "Anyway- you'd better eat that before it gets cold- what's your name?"

"Natalia. Yours?"

"Sanji. Pleased to officially meet you, Natalia-swan." Sanji cooed, watching the delighted surprise pass Natalia's face as she ate the first bite.

"Sanji, this is delicious!" She exclaimed.

He grinned.

"Oi. The scary redhead is awake." Luffy said, craning his neck to see past Usopp, who'd been lecturing him on how the fishing bait was not food.

Usopp, upon hearing his captain's declaration, jumped and turned to face Natalia, making sure he was behind the captain's back for safety.

"Hey! That's Natalia-san to you, baka." Sanji said, "She is a lady, you know."

"Mm." Luffy acknowledged, nodding once.

"This moron is Luffy, he's annoying, but you'll get used to him." Sanji said, apparently deciding it was his job to introduce Natalia to everyone on the ship. "And hiding behind him is Usopp, the one who fixed the hole in your ship."

Natalia's eyes lit up with gratitude and recognition, "Thank you! You did an excellent job!"

"No problem, Natalia-san." Usopp said, sensing the chance to brag about things that never happened and that Natalia had overcome her anger. "Actually, when we went to the great land of…"

"Over here is the lazy marimo, Zoro." Sanji said, motioning carelessly to the sleeping swordsman as he walked by. "And this is our crew's doctor, Chopper. After that is the beautiful and intelligent archaeologist Robin-swan!" His tone changed once he mentioned a female, and Natalia began to piece together how this character would effect their voyage. "And our wonderful and beautiful navigator, Nami-swan!"

Nami smiled and waved at Natalia as she approached. "You look like you're in a much better mood today." She greeted. "I'm sorry about all the guys on deck, but once they realized you'd fallen asleep, they all had to come out. They get restless, you know?"

"It's fine. And I am feeling a lot better than I was yesterday… I'm sorry, it's just this ship really does mean a lot to me. I didn't mean to snap, or anything…" Natalia offered weakly, ashamed of her harsh actions the night before.

"It's fine. Do you know how long it takes to get to the next island?" Nami asked.

Natalia nodded. "Truthfully, I've only been there once in my life, but I remember it took four days; and that's when the winds and waves weren't in our favor. If the wind blows east, like it is now, the whole way, we should be fine."

"And if it doesn't?" Nami asked.

"It'll take a day or two more. If I remember correctly there's also a fast current somewhere around here, but I've only heard rumors about it, so I can't tell you much more." Natalia replied. "As long as you remember how random this sea is, everything should be fine."

Nami nodded.

"I'll go get you lovely ladies some refreshments." Sanji said, excusing himself.

Natalia smiled. Of all the people in the world, having the Straw Hat Pirates attempt to steal her vessel was a streak of luck. Anyone else would've thrown her overboard and laughingly watched her thrash until she drowned.

At least these pirates were kind.

~~oo~~O~~oo~~

"So, Natalia, you have to tell us." Nami declared at dinner. The day had been slow and peaceful, and Natalia had to admit, Nami and her had become quick friends. "What's the story behind this ship? The curiosity's been killing me all day!"

Most everyone nodded their heads in agreement, apparently, all wondering the same.

"Well, it's… kind of long and depressing." Natalia said. "I don't want to ruin the meal for anyone…"

"Oh please, Luffy ruins every meal we have by stealing food." Nami announced, at the same time as she slapped Luffy's wandering hands away from her food. "Besides, we're really interested in hearing it."

Most everyone nodded once more.

"O-okay then." Natalia said. She had to admit, sharing the story of her ship was a first. "Well, it all starts with my mother…"

~~oo~~O~~oo~~

Adeline was a beautiful woman, and she knew this well. She had long, wavy red hair that she kept tied back so the majority stayed out of her face. Her father, her father's father, her father's, father's father (and so on) had all been marines. She, however, was the oldest child of three. Her younger sister, Toby (really Tabitha) and her younger brother, Caleb.

As the oldest, Adeline had been expected to keep order between her siblings, but she'd grown up to be rebellious and wild. Instead of trying to help her parents fill their heads with manners and useful life lessons, she purposely went behind their backs to undo all their hard work. She had, at quite an early age, decided she was going to become a pirate, and no one could stop her.

One day, after a fiery argument with her father, Adeline was told one phrase that had changed her life forever.

"_Adeline! It's time you faced reality! You're a girl! A _girl!_ A female isn't fit to be a pirate. Females are fit for comfy lives where their fathers, then their husbands pamper them. Girls are delicate- not pirate material!" _

For years, the quote brought her down, making her doubt the possibility of her dreams. Until one day, she met a young, handsome, kind and intelligent man with eyes that reflected the fire in his heart. Adeline knew immediately, this was the man for her. When he proposed, she said yes.

Said prince charming had a dream people doubted as well. He wanted to be a high-up in the marines, and somehow, this nursed Adeline's dreams of becoming a pirate back to health, and this caused conflict between the couple. Soon, her husband told her the same thing.

"_Adeline, a woman cannot become a pirate! It's hopeless! Give it up!"_

Still, she never lost hope. Years passed, and the man gave her children. As they grew, Adeline's husband was gone too often. While he was gone, she fed the children encouragements, especially her daughter, Natalia.

"_You can do anything you set your heart to, Natalia! The world is full of possibilities! All it takes is a little push! You know, you could be the Pirate Queen one day."_

These encouragements fed little Natalia, and she grew up rebellious, just as her mother had. But soon, tragedy struck. Adeline grew ill, but hid this from her children and husband. She paid some men in town to build her a ship, and not to tell her husband about it. When young Natalia had found out, she was shocked to tears.

"_Mommy? Are you going somewhere?"_

"_Yep. Sorry, kiddo. I can't do it. I wish I could take you with me, but… I'm leaving tomorrow." _

That night, Natalia had prayed to God all night that something- anything- would stop her mother from leaving her. The next morning, she wished she never had.

Adeline was found in her bed, dead. And Natalia blamed herself. After Adeline's funeral, Natalia's father found the ship and had it smashed to a million pieces. It was a bad example for Natalia, he claimed. And a bad reminder of the 'darker side' of his wife.

Natalia grew. The bigger she got, the more rebellious she grew.

"_Mom, I will fulfill your dream. And I will prove dad wrong." _

Natalia rebuilt the ship and renamed it Adeline's Pride, because that's what it had been. A symbol of her mother's pride. Something that her dad could never destroy. Natalia had also been told a fair amount of times that a girl could not become a pirate, and that she couldn't fulfill her mother's dream.

"_Stupid girl! Don't you know an inherited dream never comes true?"_

As her response, she'd laughed. She'd laughed so hard, tears came to her eyes. And with no other reply, she'd gone back to her room, snuck out, and began her work on Adeline's Pride.

~~oo~~O~~oo~~

The only dry eyes at the table were that of Robin, Zoro and Luffy. Robin had been paying close attention, but only smiled warmly. Zoro had fallen asleep after Luffy had stolen all of his food, and Luffy had been busy pillaging plates.

"That's such a sad story!" Usopp, Chopper and Sanji cried out. "Poor Natalia-chan/san/swan!"

"Gomen. I knew it would ruin the meal." Natalia said, looking down at her now-empty plate.

"It's okay, Natalia. I can see why you're so protective of this ship. It's a lot more forgivable knowing your reasons." Nami said, smiling.

Chopper, know taking things a little more seriously, asked, "Just what disease did your mother have?"

"She used to have a weak heart, I suppose." Natalia replied. "The heart attacks where small, and they grew, and grew until one huge one took her out."

Chopper nodded. "I see."

It was sad. Natalia's mother had been young too… the heart attack had occurred when her heart had gotten overexcited and over exerted itself. And Natalia had wished for her voyage to be stopped…

"So, anyways…" Usopp said, taking his fork, ready to dig into the meat that just wasn't on his plate anymore.

"Luffy!" Everyone on the ship yelled, waking Zoro up and startling him, causing him to fall off his chair, sitting on his butt, swords drawn.

Natalia, Nami and Luffy laughed.

Natalia was beginning to get the idea this would be a fun trip.

~~oo~~O~~oo~~

"Raise the sail!" Nami shouted. "Sanji! Turn sharp to the left! We're getting blown off course! Zoro, help Luffy!"

The ship was a blur of action as Luffy, Usopp, Zoro and Robin struggled to raise the sails as the winds threw about bits of driftwood, almost as if it were _trying _to poke holes in Natalia's sail. Lightening split the sky and thunder crashed. Rain pelted down, making the deck slick, and waves rocked the boat, causing a mass loss of balance for Chopper who was desperately attempting to assist Sanji. Nami and Natalia were the only ones even remotely still, Natalia grasping the rail and Nami squinting to see the Log Pose.

The crew had been trying to find a stable current, when a storm had erupted out of nowhere. Natalia knew it wouldn't be their fault if her ship was a little tattered, but as the self-proclaimed shipwright of Adeline's Pride, she was overtaken with worry. She could practically hear the boards in the storage room peeling off as the waves crashed against them. Nami nudged Natalia knowingly. "Don't worry. We've been through storms before."

Natalia smiled, as a gigantic wave rocked the ship roughly to the left. She instinctively looked to the left and shrieked. A huge sea serpent, probably disturbed from it's sleep by the storm, angrily thrashed, making violent waves.

Nami screamed, "Zoro! Do something!"

Unfortunately, all the fighters were a bit too busy to notice, and too far away to hear Nami scream. The sail had been a bit of patchwork, and not very good patchwork, but at the moment, it didn't feel like being tied up.

Letting her instinct take over, Natalia raised her palm to the creature and let an electric charge escape her palm, freezing the sea serpent. Just to be sure, Natalia let out a second blast, and watched it topple over and sink to the sea floor.

Nami let out a half terrified, half confused squeak.

Natalia looked back to her and asked, as if completely oblivious to her discomfort, "Are we still going the right way?"

Nami, remembering the Log Pose, looked to it and made a face. "Sanji! Hard right!" She looked at Natalia exasperated. "Stupid monster knocked us off course."

Natalia gave a smile and replied, "I'm going to go make sure the ship's holding together." She couldn't be sure, but at the moment, she wanted to claim this had to be the roughest maiden voyage in history.

In the storage room, she was shocked to find the second layer of boards had been finished, and it was all holding nicely. She put her hand to the boards and smiled, "Just a bit longer. We're almost to the island."

~~oo~~O~~oo~~

"So," Nami asked, sitting on deck, relaxing after the tiresome storm. "what was _that?"_

"'That?'" Natalia repeated, confused. "Please explain."

"I don't know how to." Nami replied. "That whole… sea serpent incident. You… did something."

"Oh, that!" Natalia said, realizing what the woman meant. "I ate the Shokku Shokku no Mi. I can make electricity. Like an eel."

Nami nodded. "That seems like a pretty good defense against sea monsters."

"Of course." Natalia grinned. "Water and electricity don't mix. They can't take it like some humans probably could."

"I see." Nami replied.

"LAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNDDDDD HOOOOOOOOOO!" Usopp yelled from the crow's nest.

Nami stood and rushed to the rail. "Impossible! The weather hasn't stabilized and it's only been three days!"

"Well, the weather's been kind of in our favor and this island is too small to influence the sea's weather around it. We call it Rain Island sometimes because of the unpredictable weather, and it rains practically twenty four seven." Natalia explained. "See? Just ahead you can see the rain."

"Oh…" Nami said, almost sounding deflated. "This sounds like such a dreary island."

"How are you going to catch the thief?" Natalia asked.

Before she knew it, Nami had called the whole crew over and was explaining how this trip was going to work.

"Okay, crew!" She called, "Remember, on this island we're not here to play."

Luffy, who'd been chanting, "Island, island, island, island, island, island," seemed a bit deflated by this news.

"We're here to catch the pirates who stole our ship! Now, we're going to split into two groups. Zoro, Chopper, Robin and I will search the right side of the island. Luffy, Sanji and Usopp will take the left."

"What about Natalia-chwan?" Sanji asked.

"Unless Natalia would like to help out, then this will be where we part ways." Nami replied, a tinge of sadness in her voice. It had been nice to have someone like Natalia on board.

"I'd like to help out." Natalia announced. "I don't think you need my help, but I'd still like to watch the guys who stole another's ship get beaten."

"Great!" Nami said. "Then Chopper can go with Luffy, Sanji and Usopp instead, and Natalia can come with Zoro, Robin and I!"

Sanji's heart-eye broke again. No doubt Nami-swan had this planned out so Sanji would have to put up with his idiotic male crew mates. But still, she was beautiful when she was devious!

"You guys ready?" Nami called.

"Yosh!" The crew replied.

"Good!" Nami answered. "Now let's get going!"

~~oo~~O~~oo~~

Rain Island had a great deal of interesting attractions. It was a very fashionable place. Many people were drawn to the mass amounts of designers. However, only one thing about the island really drew Natalia's attention.

There were rumors she'd heard about a certain thief that steals once a month on a full moon. She was known for her agility, flexibility and strength. She went by the name of 'Silhouette', because the last thing anyone saw before she disappeared was her silhouette against the full moon. It was intriguing, and once this whole Going Merry ordeal was over, Natalia planned on waiting for a full moon to see her.

"Okay! Now, we'll meet back here at dusk, okay?"

"Hai!"

"Let the search begin!"

"Yosh!"

The search began with Luffy wondering off in the wrong direction, Chopper and Usopp having to correct them. In Nami's group, they immediately took off, scoping the shore for a town.

"You're sure this is a civilized place?" Nami asked, looking about.

"Of course." Natalia replied. "I think we may be on the wrong side of the island, though. I've told you how small this place is, and there's only one town and a mass of trees behind it. Judging by this mass of trees, we could probably cut right through it and make it to the town quickly."

"Sounds like a plan to me." Robin said, looking into the woods.

"Then let's go." Nami said, smiling brightly.

~~oo~~O~~oo~~

"When I find whoever stole our ship, I'll beat him single handedly!" Usopp claimed. "I'll say, 'How dare you run off with our precious ship that Kaya so graciously bestowed upon us! Vile villain! I'll have your head for this!' Then, I'll attack him with so much force, he'll never know what hit him!"

"Really?" Luffy and Chopper asked, stars in their eyes.

"Of course, of course! After all, no one can beat the brave, the mighty, Captain Usopp!" Usopp declared.

"Oi, shut up. You're giving me a headache, shitty bastards." Sanji said. "Besides, I'm beginning to wonder if this place has a town at all. It looks deserted."

"Yeah, it really does." Chopper admitted. "I wonder if there was a town here and something horrible happened. Like a tsunami, or…"

"A giant wolverine jumped out of the woods and destroyed everything!" Usopp declared. "See? I've even found it's tracks! You know, this all reminds me of the time I…"

"Idiot! Those are your own footprints!" Sanji said, delivering an unnecessary kick to Usopp's head. "Now come on. The quicker we find that shitty thief, the sooner we can be reunited with Robin-chwan, Nami-swan and Natalia-chwan."

"And Zoro." Usopp added.

"Let's just get going again." Sanji sighed.

"Yosh!" Luffy said, speeding off ahead of the group.

"Wait, you moron! You'll get lost!" Sanji yelled, running after his moronic captain.

Usopp and Chopper exchanged a look and shrugged, then ran off after the two, screaming.

~~oo~~O~~oo~~

"These woods are so thick!" Nami exclaimed. "Hey, Zoro, couldn't you walk ahead of us and clear a path?"

Natalia looked to her left, then to her right, spotting only Robin. "Um, Nami… Zoro's gone."

~~oo~~O~~oo~~

"Damn! These woods are so thick the girls went and got themselves lost!" Zoro grunted, using one of his katana to slash through underbrush. Truthfully, he'd been lagging behind, not wanting in on any conversations and just itching to fight the bastard who started all this. After that it'd been all too easy for the direction-challenged male to ease off in another direction, loosing the girls for good.

After two or three good slices, Zoro made his way back to a clearing. Not just any clearing, either. The beach. Not just any spot on the beach either; the exact same spot they'd entered the woods. He could still see their footsteps in the sand, turning and disappearing in the woods. "Damn it!" He yelled, frustrated.

~~oo~~O~~oo~~

Not much time had passed before Luffy got bored. Then, of course, his boredom turned to hunger. Then his boredom induced hunger transformed into extreme loss of energy. And unfortunately, back to boredom, Luffy got curious. Forgetting all about bugging Sanji for a meal, Luffy decided maybe he could find something edible in the woods. Not giving it a second thought, he ran off.

Once he had run a little ways into the woods without seeing any food, Luffy slowed at a familiar voice.

"Damn it! Stupid, stupid, stupid! I can't take my eyes off them for one second before they get lost! Damn it!" Zoro's frustrated voice growled. Some brush fell away, and Luffy came face to face with his swordsman. "Luffy?"

"Hi, Zoro. Is there any meat around here?" Luffy asked, almost immediately.

"Eh, no." Zoro replied, a bead of sweat appearing on his forehead. "Where's Chopper? And Usopp? And that shitty cook?"

Luffy shrugged, loosing interest in his nakama's questions and once again scanning the immediate area for meat of any kind.

"So, basically, you're lost?" Zoro asked.

Luffy thought on it for a moment, then shrugged again.

Zoro sighed. "You might as well come with me then. I have to go find Robin, Nami and Natalia."

"What?" Luffy asked. "Did they you lost or something?"

Zoro's bead of sweat dropped a little, and Zoro released a sigh. "Come on, Luffy, let's try to find the town and we'll get you some meat."

~~oo~~O~~oo~~

"Well, well, it seems we can't loose sight of swordsman-san for a second without him getting lost." Robin said, chuckling to herself.

"Zoro!" Nami called. "Where'd you go?"

Natalia didn't know what to say. She figured all pirates had flawless sense of directions, but this…

"Nami, there's a break in the woods over there." Natalia said, noticing that they must be near the village.

"Great. Maybe by some miracle Zoro can find his way here. If not we'll just have to leave him." Nami said with a devilish smirk.

Through the trees, the sky had turned orange already, which seemed strange. How long had they been in the woods? But what seemed stranger, is that the island that always rained, was having completely calm weather. Only a few clouds hung listlessly in the sky.

"Okay, let's try to find Merry." Nami said. "Maybe they left her at the docks… if that's the case we can just steal it and pick up the others and be gone before a fight breaks out!"

Natalia was happy being in familiar territory, but she didn't want to push her freedom. After all, she was still in her father's domain, and technically, not free from his wrath.

"Aaaaaaahhhhhhhh!" A loud, slightly obnoxious cry sounded from the forest, unsettling many birds.

Nami gave a half relieved, half irritated sigh. "That's Luffy."

"How do you know?" Natalia asked, "Do you think he's close?"

Robin, as if to answer Natalia's question, simply put up five fingers, ticking off the seconds. On cue, once the fifth finger fell, Luffy flew out of the sky, landing on his face. Next was Zoro, landing in a simpler pose, flat on his back. The footprint on his chest was all it took to figure out what had happened.

"Shitty marimo! How dare you abandon those poor, defenseless women out in the woods!" Sanji roared, storming into the clearing. "And you! Captain! Where did you think you were going? What's wrong with you two- Aah! Nami-swan!" Immediately the fire in his eyes softened into a heart as he stepped on his captain's back to swoon over the navigator.

Natalia couldn't stop her eye from twitching. She wanted to make sure the two fallen crew mates were okay, but she figured that Zoro would be rather pissed by Sanji's actions.

In fact…

"You shitty cook! What the hell was that for?" Zoro screamed, jumping up, swords at the ready.

"You want to fight?" Sanji asked, a vein popping out of his forehead.

"Hell yeah I want to fight!" Zoro replied hastily before popping one katana in his mouth.

"Hey, hey, now's not the time." Nami said. "People are watching and you two need to conserve your energy for the guy who stole our ship."

Luffy rose and blinked several times, as if he hadn't a clue what was going on. "Are we in town? Can we eat now?"

Nami gave Luffy a fierce blow to the head. "Not until we get our ship back! Idiot!"

Natalia had seen enough. The fighting was slightly ridiculous and if this didn't stop, she'd leave the Straw Hat Pirates and do some exploring of her own. "Shouldn't we be worrying about the guy that stole your ship? We may need to get going, they might've left or they could be leaving."

"Eeeeehhh?" Luffy screeched.

Zoro stood, pulling his sword out of his sheath a little. Sanji stood as well, smirking. "Then, I guess we'll just have to stop them." They said, unanimously.

The Straw Hat Pirates entered Rain Town, ready to do some serious damage to whoever had stolen their ship.

~~oo~~O~~oo~~

Nami stood, her arms crossed, looking at the damage bestowed upon the poor Merry. The main sail with the Straw Hat Pirate's symbol had a huge black 'x' marked across it. The black pirate flag had bullet holes, ranging in size, scattered across it. Also, the rails in some places were knocked around and tattered. All in all, it was a terrible fate for a ship.

Natalia was enraged as well. As a shipwright, she believed every ship tells a story, and every ship deserves respect- as does the flag it bears. And some moronic, second-class pirates came along and did this to someone else's ship? It was despicable!

Needless to say, every pirate at the dock was ready to fight. And it wasn't long before the rats who did this to Merry came along, each talking hysterically and laughing. A fire blazing in their eyes, Usopp, Luffy, Zoro, Sanji, Chopper, Robin and Nami turned on them, weapons drawn.

"How dare you do this to the ship Kaya so graciously gave us!" Usopp yelled.

As if in agreement, Luffy and Zoro cracked their knuckles.

Natalia clenched her fists, vowing only to watch this fight.

After all, the Merry wasn't her ship. Therefore, this wasn't her fight.

~~oo~~O~~oo~~

Words couldn't describe what Natalia was seeing. Only a few even came close. Sanji kicked a few crewmates out to see with one deadly kick. Zoro, with one of his three swords, sliced holes in the left half. Of course, none of the poor unsuspecting thieves could even imagine surviving Luffy's rubber bazooka.

"Done already?" Sanji scoffed. "What a waste of time."

"Humph." Zoro replied, sheathing the one and only sword he'd used.

Luffy cracked his knuckles and almost in a whining manner added, "I expected more."

Natalia couldn't hold the flinch back the three faced the rest of the Straw Hat crew.

So this was the monstrous power of the Straw Hat Pirates?

"Natalia-chwan!" Sanji called. "Could we possibly be blessed with your presence for one more dinner?"

Natalia couldn't hold back her smile. Trying hard to ignore Sanji's bloodied pant leg, she nodded.

~~oo~~O~~oo~~

"A toast!" Nami called, her arm looped over Natalia's shoulder. "To Natalia! For the wondrous ride to Rain Island!"

Natalia grinned as the Straw Hat Pirates toasted her and her ship.

She had to yell over Usopp's one hundred and twenty seventh hymn boasting his bravery to Nami. "So you're leaving tomorrow, right?"

"Yeah!" Nami yelled back, laughing as Sanji kicked Usopp down from the crate.

"That's too bad! I was kind of hoping for another night with you guys!" Natalia admitted.

"We'll meet again, I'm sure of it!" Nami said, grinning. "Besides, I'm sure our brave captain had something to ask you!"

Natalia watched as Luffy swung from the mast, down in front of Natalia. He grinned wider than humanly possible and stated, "I want you to join our crew!"

Natalia smiled, honestly flattered by the offer. "I'm sorry!" She replied. "I can't. I've got my own dreams; besides! I've got to become the Pirate Queen! I don't want to work under the Pirate King." She said, sticking her tongue out at Luffy.

Luffy laughed loudly. "I figured as much!" With only that to say, he swung off again to Zoro and Sanji's sides.

Finally, the alcohol became too much, and the Straw Hat Pirates fell asleep, leaving only Natalia awake on board.

Or so she'd thought.

"You're leaving?" Zoro asked, catching her off guard.

Natalia jumped, almost loosing her grip on the rung of the ladder. Caught, she looked back over the deck to see Zoro leaning against a wall, his mug of rum still half full.

"I expected you to stay. At least to see us off tomorrow." Zoro said. "But, I suppose you'd want to get back to your ship, right?"

Natalia nodded, somewhat sadly. "The thought of someone stealing the Pride…" She shook her head. "I can't let that happen. I plan on staying on this island a little longer though. I've heard some thing's I want to check up on."

Zoro nodded. "So you're really serious about trying to become the Pirate Queen, eh?"

Natalia nodded firmly. "Of course. I've got three generations of pigheaded males to prove wrong."

Zoro hid a half grin. "Just know that you'll have this guy as competition." He jerked his thumb towards his captain, who was in the process of using a struggling Chopper as a pillow. "Next time we meet, things may not be as friendly."

Natalia shrugged. "That's okay. Sometimes you have to fight for your dreams."

Zoro smiled, then lifted his mug. "I'll drink to that."

Natalia smiled, nodded, and jumped down to the dock below.

~~oo~~O~~oo~~

Shit!

Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!

Natalia ran out of the captain quarters wildly, tugging her blue jean jacket on as she ran. She ignored the ladder leading down off her ship and jumped off the ship, landing smoothly on the dock, then stumbling as the ran towards the docks at a dead run. The trees snagged at her clothes as she desperately tried to make it to the docks in time.

How could she have woken up late on a day like this?

Running past buildings and shoving through crowds, Natalia finally jerked to a stop on the dock that just last night had held the Going Merry firmly in place. Still clearly in sight, the Merry was leaving, and leaving quickly. With a rush of whooping and hollering in the pouring rain, Natalia managed to catch Nami's eye, and wave the Straw Hat Pirates goodbye.

Over the noise of pouring rain, and the other people in the town, Natalia managed to get one message across.

"I'll see you again!"

oo~~O~~oo~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~oo~~O~~oo

Thank you for reading! Well? What'd you think? How was chapter one? Did I completely ruin the One Piece characters for you? I tried not to, I promise. Really, I do. Well, I'm feeling rather devious, so I'm not posting Chapter Two until some kind(or impatient) soul comes along and tells me too. Or if _I _get impatient waiting for reviews... and if that happens I'll cry. Honestly, I will. XD

Anyways, thanks again. Bye!


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I'd like to throw it out there that Eiichiro Oda owns One Piece. Most of the characters in this story are original, but the setting is not. The Grand Line... North Blue... East Blue... West Blue... South Blue... All Blue... Skypeia... Luffy... Nami... Zoro... Sanji... All belong to Oda-sensei. As do all those cool characters and inventions I forgot to(was too lazy to) mention.**

~~~~~~~~~~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chapter Two: Shining Light on Silhouettes

~~~~~~~~~~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Standing before the full moon, Silhouette couldn't help but feel a rush of adrenaline. She looked over the crowd she'd drawn and was able to pick out a few of the townspeople she knew and loved, and a few she'd never seen before. Along with that rowdy redhead that'd been new to town. It was no secret she wanted to recruit Silhouette to join her as a pirate, but Silhouette had no interest in such trivial things.

What Silhouette cared about was in the bag she held. After a shout of, "There! On the roof! It's the silhouette!" She bolted, knowing that staying any later would be a matter of life or death. She giggled under her breath, unable to wait to look at her newest prize. A golden necklace, said to have extreme value to an indian tribe on a nearby island. How exciting would it be to go there and see for herself what people had valued this necklace?

"She's getting away! Run faster! Yeah! That's it! We've almost got her!"

Before those statements even got close to becoming true, Silhouette did an impressive back flip into the sea. It was routine, and no one had been smart enough to search the sea for the current Silhouette's sinking body found. No one had the sense to let it sweep them into the murky depths of a cave, and let the waves wash them on shore. If they had, they would've found all of Silhouette's treasures, and a secret passage up to her basement.

She grinned. How ingenious all this was!

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

Natalia pouted as the inn keeper watched her, amused.

"Did you see Silhouette?" The old woman asked, unable to hide the smirk from her voice.

Natalia situated herself to sit a little higher. "I saw her."

"And?" The woman asked. Some others in the lobby looked interested, all aware of the young shipwright's claims of, 'I'll talk to Silhouette! She'll be my first mate!'

Natalia sighed and slumped over in her chair again. "She got away."

A few men laughed, and were silenced by an icy glare from Natalia.

"Well, there's always next time, right?" The woman asked.

"No!" Natalia whined, oblivious to the fact she was being humored. "The Log Pose is set! I can leave now if I wanted to, but I don't want to leave without her…! And I can't wait a whole month for the next full moon!"

"Quite the predicament you're in. How do you plan on solving it?"

Natalia stood, slamming her fist into her open palm. "I've got it! I'll just find out who Silhouette really is! Then, once I know her identity, I can-"

"Blackmail her into joining you?" A man interrupted.

Natalia frowned. "Why? Is that what you'd do? No. I'm going to confront her and ask her."

"And if she says no?" Another man asked.

Natalia shrugged. "I'll let it go. I'm going to go check on my ship, I'll be back okay?"

The men watched, stunned, as the wrinkled old inn keeper nodded and Natalia walked out into the harbor.

Natalia grinned to herself, walking through the constant rain to her ship. The pictures of Silhouette she'd gotten from the library where awesome and made Silhouette look beautiful. Her features were well hidden, but her gender was obvious. Her hair billowed in the wind, and her slim figure indicated she must be young. Her flexibility and speed suggested maybe she was Natalia's age, or close to it, at least.

The ropes securing Natalia's ship to the harbor were well in place, and she smiled at the looming ship. The Pride never looked more majestic.

A loud crash interrupted her speculations, and Natalia spun around to see the librarian fall flat on her face. Natalia rushed to her side and helped her to her feet.

"I-I'm sorry to burden you!" The woman cried, bowing lowly, almost knocking her glasses off her face. With one swift motion she slid them into place. "Oh? I've heard of you." She stated. "You're that self-proclaimed pirate captain."

"Self-proclaimed?" Natalia repeated. It took her a minute to realize this was insulting. "Hey! I'm just as much of a pirate captain as any other!"

"Oh?" The woman replied, teasingly. She laughed a soft laugh. "Well then, I'm sorry to have offended you. You were in my library a few hours ago, weren't you?"

Natalia nodded. "I wanted some information on Silhouette."

"That's right." The blonde nodded, remembering. "Well then, did you find any leads?"

Natalia sighed. "No. And I'll need some if I want to capture her."

"Capture?" The woman replied. "That sounds a lot like what the police are trying. What makes you think you can do any better?"

Natalia grinned. "Well, maybe once Silhouette realizes I want her to be my crewmate-"

"Crewmate?" The librarian laughed. "You think Silhouette would be interested in such trivial things?"

"Trivial?" Natalia repeated. Angrily, she shouted, "Are you _trying _to insult me today?"

"Gomen, gomen." The librarian laughed. "Anyways, you should probably leave here as soon as possible." The librarian turned her back, but paused before walking away. "The marines won't tolerate you here for too long, and Silhouette won't join you no matter what. I'm sure of it."

"How are you sure?" Natalia asked, following the librarian even after she started to walk away.

"She's a local hero, that girl. This town has a very unique history that inflicted a lot of wrong doings against the locals. Silhouette stepped in and…"

"Stole for revenge?" Natalia guessed.

"No, no, it's not like that." The librarian chuckled, stopping outside the doorway of a house Natalia could only guess belonged to the woman. "Come on in, I'll tell you the whole story. I'm Sarah, by the way."

"Natalia." Natalia replied, accepting the librarian's handshake. "And thank you."

"No problem, Natalia." The woman smiled sweetly and led Natalia inside her humble abode. "Please sit while I go get some tea."

Natalia obeyed, sitting back and observing her surroundings. There were four arm chairs, all pointed inwards towards one circular coffee table piled high with books. Each chair was connected by a side table that also held several books. Sarah had three bookcases scattered about the room, and only two of the chairs were actually cleared off, one by the window; which was where Natalia took her seat, and another by the fireplace.

Sarah walked in with a tray, teacups and a teapot. She took her seat and set the tray on the coffee table, shoving several books aside as she did so. "I'm sorry about the mess, I never have been very organized." She said, blushing a bit.

"It's no big deal." Natalia replied. "I hate to impose, but can I hear that story now?"

Sarah laughed. "So impatient!" She poured two cups of tea and handed the first one to Natalia, then took a sip of the second before setting it on the table beside her. "It was a long time ago. About a century, actually. This island was proud and independent, then, a tyrant came along. They called him 'conqueror of the seas,' 'destroyer of lands.' He came to our island one day, looking for a place to settle down.

"My ancestors were smart. They saw through his ruse immediately. They told him there was no land here for a pirate. Unfortunately, he didn't get the hint. He ransacked Rain Town and massacred hundreds of our people. He took everything valuable to us, our gold. Our treasures.

"His sons were weak though, and that gave us the opening to attack once the barbarian passed away. We chased them off the island and threatened them not to come back. Ever." Sarah smiled. "Unfortunately, that didn't necessarily mean the people got their precious family heirlooms back. The stingy old museum director keeps them in his museum to this day. And that's why Silhouette's such a heroine."

"I don't get it." Natalia announced, finishing the last sip of her tea. "What does that have to do with Silhouette? Sure, she's probably stealing the treasures, but that doesn't necessarily mean she'll give them back to the people."

Sarah shrugged. "Call us spiteful, but we just don't like the museum director. Those treasures are better off with Silhouette anyways."

"I see." Natalia replied. "It makes perfect sense now." Natalia took a sip of the tea and looked back to Sarah. "But, one thing I don't get, is why don't you rebel? You could easily fight for your belongings, right?"

Sarah looked down, frowning, "We've tried- trust me we've tried! But… it seems… no matter what we do, he can counter it, it's like that tyrant all over again. All of the islander's spirits have been broken. Except for that girl." She smiled fondly. "Silhouette."

"And the police have no idea who she is?" Natalia asked. "You'd think all it'd take was a spotlight."

Sarah laughed. "That's a valid point, but the police have been victimized as well. I think it aggravates them, but they still let her get away with it."

"So you think they know?" Natalia asked, encouraged. "Do you think they'd tell me? After hearing this I really, really want her as my first mate!"

"First mate?" Sarah repeated. "You mean you're a pirate captain without a crew?"

Natalia nodded proudly.

Sarah burst out laughing.

Natalia, blushing furiously, yelled, "Hey! I didn't laugh at you! Besides, I'm just starting out! Stop laughing, dammit!"

"I-I-I'm sorry! But I've never heard of a captain without a single crewmate!" Sarah wiped the tears from her eyes, still chuckling to herself. "I always thought pirate crews formed from the same island."

"Well, not mine." Natalia said, pouting. "I'm hoping this voyage will get easier with her along… I really hope I can find her to join me!"

"Well, good luck with that, Natalia-san, but it's getting late. You should probably get back to your inn before it closes for the night." Sarah said with a yawn and a stretch.

Natalia nodded and stood. "Thank you for the tea. See you!" Natalia smiled wildly as she left.

Sarah smiled after her and closed the door behind her.

_Silhouette… the museum director is scheduled to come tomorrow, investigating. I don't think the other islanders can keep hiding your identity for much longer. It might be easier to give in and go with Natalia. She's certainly kind enough…_

_No. No, Silhouette is no pirate. She could never leave this island… it cause too much of a ruckus, and the director would take advantage of that and crush the islanders completely. No, Silhouette could never leave this island while that director is here._

Sarah sighed, and cleaned up a little before going to bed.

Tomorrow would be an interesting day.

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

Natalia stretched and rolled over on her other side. It'd been such a long time since she'd been able to sleep for a whole night uninterrupted. Usually at seven a.m. sharp, Jackie was banging at her door. And with the Straw Hats she was too worried to sleep, thinking every creak was Luffy breaking something. Smiling, the redhead looked lazily out the window at a scene unfolding in the town square.

A scrawny brunette man with thick glasses and an evil grin was talking in front of the crowd, where Natalia's new friend was staring. However, the blond librarian looked absolutely horrified.

"Hm?" Natalia sat up and stretched, just as a knock sounded on her door.

"Pirate-chan!" the old lady's voice croaked. "Please, help us! The museum director is demanding money as compensation for Silhouette's crimes! It's either her head or the whole town will go up in flames! Please!"

Natalia stood, keeping a straight face. She didn't reply. Instead, she stretched again and stripped down, then put on her favorite outfit- a skin tight red shirt with blue jeans and a blue jean jacket that ended at her ribcage. She let out a yawn and opened the door. With an almost evil gleam in her eye, she asked the old woman one question.

"Do you think Silhouette is there?"

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

Sarah, in her normal outfit, a long black dress with sleeves coming down to her elbows and red scarves tied to loop around her arm and drape there, was truly astonished. In her mind, she could only replay and replay the words the evil museum director had said.

"_I know you bastards are harboring that thief here! If I don't have her head, or three million belli by noon, this town will go up in smoke, got it?"_

"_What?" The mayor yelled, "You can't! What gives you the permission to do this?" _

"_I've got the marines on my side. They say this girl is a danger, should she ever decide to become a pirate. I can't let that happen, and neither can they, so her capture is absolutely necessary!"_

Sarah ran back to the library. _Silhouette…_ she clenched her fists. She couldn't just let this town burn, but no one here had anywhere near three million belli! She threw open the door to the library and unlocked a door behind the counter. A long set of stairs wound down to the basement, where piles upon piles of treasure awaited.

She pulled the hair band out of her hair and released the long golden hair. It was time for Silhouette to make what could possibly become her last appearance.

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

Natalia didn't know why exactly she was letting herself get wrapped up in this island's business, but the people seemed to really need her help. When she walked past people, she could hear whispers of, _"Three million belli? No one has that much! I don't even think we could reach that much as a group." "We should turn Silhouette in. This is all her fault after all." "No way, Silhouette will never give in." "You're right."_

Once Natalia found the old inn keeper, she stuck her hands in her pocket and relaxed a little. "What do you want me to do?"

"If you're going to be such a great pirate…" She clenched her fists. "kick those men out to sea!"

Natalia nodded, smiling. "I can do tha-"

"Wait!" A shrill female voice cried. The museum director was in the middle of beating a woman senseless after said that this was a poor island, and no one could possibly pay that amount. "If you have to fight anyone…" Sarah looked up, dressed oddly with her hair down. "Fight me. I'm Silhouette."

Something clicked in Natalia's head.

Sarah was Silhouette. How hadn't she figured that out earlier? She had the figure for it… It was that dress. The dress distorted her silhouette and made her look older and fatter. Sarah must be a genius.

"Silhouette, eh? So you've decided to show your cowardly face and fight me?" The museum director barked out an almost hysteric laugh. "Great! Great! Now the people won't have to suffer for your behalf. Seems the bait worked."

_Bait? What a despicable man. _Natalia thought. _I'll only step in if Sa- Silhouette needs my help. Besides, I want to see her fight._

Silhouette, with unexpected agility, jumped off the roof and landed directly in front of the museum director. With a snap of his fingers, he sicced his guards on Silhouette. The first three attacked thoughtlessly, attempting to tackle her. The girl did an impressive back flip and somehow managed to land on one's back, slamming her heels purposely hard on his spine. The man let out a tortured cry.

The others, now realizing just how much of a threat this woman was, took better fighting stances.

"You're just going to watch?" The inn keeper asked, bewildered. "Silhouette is a thief, not a fighter! She'll be killed!"

"Just watch." Natalia ordered.

Silhouette kicked the first man in the shin, while dodging a jump-kick from the second. She quickly snatched his collar in midair and slammed him into his companion, sending them both flying into a building and denting the bricks.

The inn keeper's mouth fell open.

Natalia smirked.

Silhouette turned back to the museum director to find the remaining three guards standing protectively in front of him.

"Just come quietly, Silhouette! It will make things so much easier!" The museum director said. "You won't get the death sentence or anything, just a few years in jail with cooperation."

Silhouette sneered. "As if I'd come with you peacefully."

The museum director straightened his shirt. "Well, don't kill her. Bring her to my mansion when you're done."

"Yes sir!" The three remaining meatheads barked.

The museum turned to give Silhouette one last message; "And don't think these three will be weaker than the others. They're Devil Fruit users."

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

Silhouette's eyes widened. _Shit! I've never met another Devil Fruit user! How do I fight these guys? It won't be so simple… will it?_

Experimentally, Silhouette aimed a well-executed jump kick at Devil Fruit user number one's face. He dodged, and grabbed hold of Silhouette's hair. The girl cried out, looking for a sign of hope anywhere. All the crowd presented was apathetic looks. And…

Natalia cocked an eyebrow, as if saying, 'All it takes is one word… one word from you and I'll help.'

A sharp kick struck her in the side, and she cried out thoughtlessly, "Natalia! Help me!"

Natalia's brown eyes flashed, and she looked up. "Why of course." She replied. She showed the three men her palm and looked up mischievously. "Let her go. I'll be your opponent."

Two of the three laughed and stepped forward, giving the third a chance to get away. Silhouette cried desperately as the man dragged her with them.

"Oh no you don't! She's going to be my first mate!" Natalia yelled. "Shokku Shokku no Hoshutsu!" Electricity flowed from her base to her palm, then shot out towards Silhouette's captor.

The man turned a toasted brown color and stopped dead. His eye twitched one, two, three times, and he collapsed, releasing a surprised Silhouette. She looked towards Natalia with amazement. "Y-you ate a Devil's Fruit?"

Natalia nodded, turning her interest back to the two men looking shocked at their boss. "Who's next?" She asked, venomously, cracking her knuckles.

"Let's get the hell out of here!" The two yelped, grabbing their boss and running after the director.

Natalia grinned. "Silhouette, are you okay?"

"Fine." The girl replied, wiping dirt off her tights. "But this just proves that without me here… or even with me here… this island is in trouble."

Natalia grinned. "Okay, so, if I save your island will you be my first mate?"

Silhouette gave the redhead an annoyed glare. She sighed, wiping her blond bangs off her face. "Fine, fine."

Natalia grinned, smirking at some of the guys who'd mocked her at the inn. "Great! We can leave right after this." With only that to say, Natalia shot off into the woods, leaving only a trail of dust.

"Librarian-san? You're not really going… are you?" A little girl asked, teary-eyed.

Silhouette put her hand on the little girl's shoulder. "I've got to."

"You can always stay… you know that, right Sarah?" The bartender asked. "We'd miss you terribly if you went."

Silhouette smiled calmly. "Don't call me Sarah. I'm Silhouette from now on. And… It's not so much that I have to go… I've always wanted to travel and this may be my only chance." She smiled. "I'll visit sometime, okay?"

The man's mouth opened, but before he could, Silhouette disappeared into the woods, following after her new captain.

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

Natalia opened another door to yet another empty room. Stupid mansion, what was it, a maze? She shut the door again with a sigh. _I hate this guy already- just for his house! He's probably in the last room, too. Or upstairs. How do I even get upstairs? I haven't seen a staircase yet. _She twisted a doorknob and noted that it was locked.

Unsure of what to do, she knocked.

"Who is it?" A demanding male voice asked. It sounded all high and mighty, so Natalia jumped to conclusions and decided this must be the museum director's room.

Without replying, Natalia took a deep breath and kicked the door down.

The room was large and made mostly of glass. There was a pool and some exotic plants. A man with nothing but a towel on was being massaged by a surprised woman in a bikini. The man had black hair and startled green eyes.

Natalia, who's face was lighting up like Christmas lights, bowed. "Gomen nasai." She said. Then, rising, she asked, "Where's the museum director's room?"

"Dad?" The boy asked. "It's the very last door on the left, why?"

_Figures._ Natalia thought venomously. "I have some unfinished business with him. Sorry to disturb you."

Natalia turned her back and left, leaving the startled woman and boy looking at an empty doorway stunned.

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

When Silhouette entered the mansion, the first thing she saw was a large hallway with two open doors; one halfway down with no door on the hinges, and one halfway open at the end of the hallway.

Cautiously, the thief walked closer, finding a half-naked couple in one doorway, and in the other, Natalia and the museum director. The director had a fireplace tool- the one with the pointy end you use to move coals around- and Natalia had sparks flying from her clenched fists.

Silently, Silhouette just stood there, drinking in the sight before her. Should she help? It looked like Natalia had everything under control, but she'd been pissed off.

"So, what are you going to do about it, little girl?" The museum director said. "As we speak, I've got dismantlers headed straight for your ship!"

The sparks jumped higher off Natalia's fist, even some jumped from her eyes as she looked up at the man. "You're going to regret that. Really, truly, you will."

"Oh? Will I?" He laughed.

Natalia took a deep breath as the sparks grew larger and larger. It occurred to Silhouette that Natalia must be planning on using a large attack. "At first, I was just going to smack you around, maybe knock you out. You know; simply teach you a lesson. But now that you've involved Adeline, I'm going to have to kill you."

_Who's Adeline?_ Silhouette wondered.

"Shokku Shokku no…" Natalia groaned, obviously straining under the pressure of a large electrical build up in her hands. She thrust both hands out towards the museum director. "Shokei Suru." The last words were a deadly whisper, and as she said them, all the electricity she could take without fainting was thrust in one deadly blow at the museum director's heart.

Natalia stumbled a little, and fell to her knees, panting from exertion.

"Natalia!" Silhouette cried, running to her new captain's side. "Are you ok-"

"Don't!" the red head ordered. "Go! Go get to the Pride! Go save her!" Tears streamed freely down Natalia's face. "Don't let them dismantle her."

Silhouette, dumbstruck, nodded and rushed from the room. _Adeline… I thought I was supposed to be the first mate? Is Adeline the real first mate? And the Pride? She couldn't have thought of a better name for her ship?_

Silhouette shuddered as she remembered the ferocity and size of that last attack. It'd been a killer. _'Shokku Shokku no Shokei Suru…' _A well named attack. 'Shock Shock Execution.'

She ran faster as she saw a mob of men with a torch nearing the Pride.

"Stop!" Silhouette yelled. "Don't touch that ship!"

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

That new attack was a whopper. Natalia's legs felt like jelly, or maybe something a little less substantial. Either way, she couldn't stand in this situation. It was dangerous. If a guard came, Natalia couldn't even create a spark in this state, and much worse, she couldn't protect her mother's ship.

"_Go get to the Pride! Go save her!" _

Silhouette was gone before she could hear Natalia's weak, "Please!" Hopefully, her first mate could save Adeline's Pride.

Slowly, but surely, Natalia began rubbing her legs, and the numbness went away. Within about a minute she could stand. Another and she could walk. One more minute and she was sprinting wildly towards the Pride. _I'm coming!_

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

Fire.

Silhouette had knocked several other torches out of the men's grasp, and a few had started landing on the ships beside the Pride. Natalia was already emotionally attached to this ship, so it wouldn't be right for Silhouette's first act as first mate to be letting some old fools burn it. After defeating the thugs, Silhouette decided the best thing to do would be to take the Pride out to sea and pick Natalia up from some other side port.

The docks caught fire shortly after Silhouette boarded the Pride. By herself, it was hard to get going fast, but she did. Using her power to put wind in the sails, Silhouette rushed off. From one of the ships to her right, she heard a strangled gasp and a loud thud. Some poor guy must've gotten caught on one of those burning vessels.

Silhouette wiped the sweat from her brow as she pulled out towards the second set of docks.

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

Fire.

Fire had engulfed the docks where the Pride had once floated. It seemed as if Silhouette had defeated the bastards, but it'd been too late, and with the Pride reduced to ashes, the girl must've been too ashamed to show her face. Natalia fell to her knees. _No…! No! Anything but the Pride! _She clenched her fists. If by any chance that bastard museum director had survived the execution, she was going to take him out in a much more painful way.

A light rain began to fall, as usual for Rain Island. Natalia sat there, drenched, until the last flickering flame was extinguished. Ashes scattered out to sea, like one huge memorial service for those lost ships… and the Pride.

Natalia stood. She had to find Silhouette. Or Sarah. Or whoever she was at the moment. She had to make sure the girl was still her first mate- after all, it wasn't completely her fault Adeline's Pride had been reduced to ashes. Not entirely.

Shaking, she made her way past a second dock where a new ship was coming in. She looked at it mournfully. It seemed to be the same type as the Pride. The same color, the same mermaid figurehead… an excited waving blond looking happily to her captain.

It took Natalia a minute to register what this meant, and then…

"YOU SAVED THE PRIDE!" Natalia screamed excitedly, jumping up and down. "Silhouette, you're amazing!"

"Thank you, thank you." Silhouette said, bowing twice. "It's my pleasure mademoiselle." Silhouette beamed, "Come aboard, sencho-chan."

Natalia wiped the joyous tears from her eyes and ran down a long dock, then jumped aboard the Pride. Silhouette grabbed her captain's arms and helped her up. "This is great! Thank you so much, Silhouette!"

"No problem. Remember, I have to sail in this ship, too." Silhouette laughed. "But there is a minor burn on the left side."

Natalia frowned a little, immediately going to check on the Pride's wounds. It wasn't that bad. She patted the wood. "I'll patch it up later."

"You can do that?" Silhouette asked.

Natalia, hands on her hands, nodded proudly. "I built this ship- er, rebuilt it."

"Sugoi! You're the shipwright as well as the captain then?" Silhouette asked.

Natalia nodded, a bit smugly.

Silhouette laughed. "Well, give me the log pose. I'll navigate."

Natalia complied, not quite willing to admit she couldn't navigate. "I suppose you're the navigator now, too, huh?"

"Unless you find a better one." Silhouette replied, putting the Pride on course. "Oh, before we get too far, you do have supplies, right?"

"Of course." Natalia replied. "Kitchen's all stocked."

"Do you want to switch out kitchen duties?" Silhouette asked.

"Sure." Natalia replied, grinning. "I'll do tonight's dinner."

Silhouette nodded, and went back to steering. It took her a few minutes for it to sink in that she was actually heading off towards her dreams. Her hometown was soon no more than a speck on the horizon, and she didn't really mind. Soon, she'd be able to have real adventures, with real relics, and soon, a pirate crew. She couldn't help but smile at the thought. How long would it be before they gained a new member?

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

"Admiral Thompson, sir, we have news on… Natalia." A young man dressed in a neat marine uniform said.

Admiral Thompson swiveled to get a look at the man who'd spoken. "Where is she? Is she okay? She was kidnapped by those Straw Hat pirates, right?"

"Umm… not exactly." The man replied. "She was seen on Rain Island with the Straw Hats at first… then… they left without her… and she set fire to the docks and started a pirate crew."

"WHAT?" Admiral Thompson bellowed, shaking the windows. "My poor baby isn't capable of such dangerous things!"

"Admiral Thompson… sir… I'm sure she did it of her own free will."

"No! No, no, no! Those Straw Hats must've threatened her… or… or something!" Admiral Thompson shook his head. "Get her back! Now!"

"Y-yes sir! Right away sir! I'll send a ship after her!" the man scrambled out of the room as if the angered admiral had caught his pants on fire.

Admiral Thompson sat down, rubbing his temples and looking at an old photograph. It was him and his wife, each holding the hand of an energetic redhead holding a wooden sword and donning a pirate hat. In the picture, the admiral looked endearingly at his daughter, and behind them, his wife was cracking up. That was always how Adeline had been… always too open minded with Natalia. Maybe if Adeline had grown up, Natalia wouldn't be rebelling at the moment.

"Adeline…" Admiral Thompson whispered. "God help us now."

oo~~O~~oo~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~oo~~O~~oo

Thank you for reading! I'm much more comfortable writing now that I don't have to worry about ruining someone else's characters XD. So, tell me how you like the characters so far... the plot... the backgrounds... something... please...?

I forgot to mention something in the first chapter's author notes, so I'd like to put that here now. Natalia's Devil Fruit is the 'Shokku Shokku no Mi.' The shock shock fruit. It was mentioned that Silhouette had one as well- The 'Kaze Kaze no Mi.' The wind wind fruit (gosh, some things just sound better in Japanese T_T). With that being said, I'll just go work on the next chapter... bye. Oh... review. That is an order. XD

Bye!


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I'd like to throw it out there that Eiichiro Oda owns One Piece. Most of the characters in this story are original, but the setting is not. The Grand Line... North Blue... East Blue... West Blue... South Blue... All Blue... Skypeia... Luffy... Nami... Zoro... Sanji... All belong to Oda-sensei. As do all those cool characters and inventions I forgot to(was too lazy to) mention.**

~~~~~~~~~~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chapter Three: The Chef and the Chore Boy

~~~~~~~~~~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Hey! Natalia! Didn't I tell you I was saving that apple in the store room for today's lunch?" Silhouette yelled, unsure exactly where her captain was. It'd been a full week since Rain Island, and they'd already passed an island. Luckily, it only took the log an hour to set, because any longer and the pair would've been torched. After spending half an hour restocking the not-really depleted stock, they'd gone around asking if anyone wanted to join their crew.

Bad move.

Within twenty minutes, the girls where out to sea again, puddles of tears at their feet from them laughing so hard.

But, that wasn't what concerned Silhouette. What concerned Silhouette was her current lack of apple for her whole wheat apple-raisin bread. It would be simple to make the apple-raisin bread simply raisin bread, but it bothered her that Natalia had apparently ignored her. Even if she was the captain.

Natalia made her way down from the crow's nest. "Hm?"

"I asked what happened to the apple in there. I was saving it for lunch today." Silhouette asked, peeved. Now she was even having to repeat herself.

"I know, you told me yesterday, didn't you?" Natalia asked. "Besides, I haven't eaten since breakfast. Today's your day to cook."

"I know." Silhouette replied, "But that apple was there when I went to bed, and now it's not. Do explain."

"Maybe a wave rocked the ship and the apple rolled away." Natalia suggested with a shrug. "Let's go check again."

Silhouette was still a bit ticked off, but complied, following her captain below deck to the storage room.

What they found wasn't an apple in any shape, form or size.

In fact, it was a human. More specifically, a male, maybe in his early twenties. With an apple core beside him. He was laid out sleeping quietly.

"Do you think we should wake him?" Natalia asked, watching as Silhouette picked up the apple core and stared at it for a whole ten seconds. Her expression went from inquisitive, to realization, to anger. The core whizzed out of her hand and into the man's face.

He woke with a start.

"What the- oh shit."

"Damned right 'oh shit'!" Silhouette snapped. "That was our last apple and I was planning on using it for today's lunch! Ask before you eat something!"

Natalia couldn't hold back a slight giggle, and Silhouette glared at her for this. "It's not funny, Natalia. We're out at sea. What if that apple had been the last of our food supplies? What then, huh? You wouldn't be laughing then, would you?"

"Relax, Silhouette!" Natalia laughed. "Everyone's got to eat, and that wasn't the last of our food supplies. I'm more worried about why this guy is on our ship in the first place."

The man's face was flushed, as if expecting to be thrown overboard, or murdered brutally or something.

Natalia bent down, "Hey, you do know this is a _pirate ship,_ right?"

If possible, even more color drained from his face. "B-b-but you don't have a Jolly Roger! T-there was no was I could've known."

Natalia stood and put her hands on her hips. "Well then, that's your fault. You shouldn't stow-away. It's not nice. If you're going to stay on this ship, we're going to put you to work. What's your name?"

"J-Jonathan." The man replied, as if his name would decide his fate for him.

"Well, Mr. Jonathan, how good are you at cooking?" Natalia asked with a wicked smile.

Jonathan gulped.

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

Jonathan had relaxed a little. The pirates had allowed him to eat, but since he'd revealed he couldn't cook, he was regarded as a temporary member of the crew. He'd have to do dishes every night as well. Silhouette wasn't a problem either. She kept her distance in an almost childish manner, making him think maybe she was still upset about the apple.

It was Natalia that really annoyed him. The pirate captain would sit at the table and talk to him while he did the dishes. It was humiliating in some way. Until, finally, she seemed to warm up towards him.

"So, Jonathan, where are you headed?" Natalia asked.

"Huh?" He asked, caught off guard. He'd almost dropped a glass, but luckily, he had a better grip than that.

"I asked where you were going. You wouldn't be stowing away if there wasn't somewhere you wanted to be, right?" The redhead asked, her large eyes staring at his back.

"Oh, that makes since." He replied. "Well, I want to go to this winter island… Shinsei Island."

"Ew. I hate winter. Too cold. Much too cold. All the time." Natalia made a gagging noise. "Why would you want to go there?"

Jonathan let a chuckle escape him. "Well, I met a girl there-"

"Ooh! I see now."

"No! It's not like that!" Jonathan insisted, putting the last dish away after drying it. "Whew, all done." He sat. "And she's just a friend of mine."

"Uh-huh. Sure." Natalia winked.

"Well, I promised her I'd come back and I'm trying. I have been for the past year or so. But I've gotten so mixed up and lost… It's not as if I can get my own ship you know, and even if I did I couldn't steer it. And anyway, I can't control the people I've stowed away with. So, I don't even know where I am in the Grand Line anymore."

"Grand Line? Oh wow, you really are lost. What makes you think we're in the Grand Line?" Natalia said, giggling.

"Cut it out." Jonathan replied, seeing through her ruse.

Natalia pouted a little. "Well, if it's close we can drop you off."

Jonathan looked up, surprised. "You can?"

"Of course. We big bad pirates like a little adventure. And it sounds like fun, picking on you and your girlfriend." Natalia replied.

"She's not my girlfriend!" Jonathan yelled.

Natalia shrugged. "Fine then. Anyway, do you know some of the islands around it? We could find it faster then."

"No, I don't, but she gave me this Eternal Pose." Jonathan replied.

"Aw! How cute!" Natalia crooned, unable to help herself.

"Stop that. Now." Jonathan said, extremely annoyed. "Well, the Eternal Pose is in my bag. I should probably get it and give it to Silhouette."

"Probably." Natalia replied. "Once you're done sweep in here, then you can go to bed, okay, chore boy?"

Jonathan scowled at the name, but disappeared.

Natalia yawned and stretched, settling deeper in her chair. Jonathan was nice, but would she benefit at all from him joining? Maybe it'd be best not to ask him.

The door swung open, and Natalia shot Silhouette a lazy glance as she entered and took Jonathan's seat. "You're really okay with him here? He did stow away, after all. I'd thought you'd react negatively."

"Nah. He's okay." Natalia replied. "Oh! And we're taking him to Shinsei Island."

Silhouette looked up surprised. "We are?"

Natalia nodded. "He wants to meet a girl there. I don't know the details but… whatever. He's going to give you an Eternal Pose when he gets back."

"Okay then." Silhouette replied, stunned. Who knew Natalia could be so impulsive?

Natalia stood and stretched again. "Well, good night. Wake me up if it starts raining."

"Who's on night watch tonight?" Silhouette asked.

"I did it last night and Jonathan's worked hard so I guess you." Natalia replied. "Night."

Silhouette nodded. "Good night, captain."

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

The Adeline's Pride shuddered. Apparently, Shinsei Island was a winter island, and already the weather had stabilized with some light rain and a definite chill. Silhouette hugged her blanket closer. Cold weather was not her forte. The Eternal Pose pointed straight forward, which was good. With the wind blowing from the north, the sails had been taken up and they were riding a reliable (or so Jonathan had said) current straight to Shinsei Island. From the last island, it should've taken twelve days to get there. One week had been spent without the girls having any knowledge of Jonathans existence, and the past four days Silhouette hadn't had to touch a broom or dish. Except, of course, when it was her turn to cook.

Silhouette blew out, watching as her white breath curled and faded. That was the best part about cold weather. Seeing her breath somehow managed to always amuse Silhouette.

"Good night!" Jonathan yelled up to the first mate, putting the broom against the wall. It'd been four days since Jonathan had been discovered, and at first, Silhouette had always been distant and cold to the chore boy.

Silhouette waved goodnight to him from the crows nest, remembering the odd look he'd given her when she said her name was Silhouette. Maybe it was yesterday when Silhouette had warmed up to the boy.

A marine ship had pulled up alongside the Pride while Silhouette was cooking and Natalia was bothering her. Jonathan, who'd been sweeping at the time, had been asked if he'd seen two females and shone pictures of Natalia and Silhouette. He'd said yes, but covered himself by lying and saying they were still on the other island.

Of course, Natalia ruined it by checking it out and sending an electric shock through the sea towards the marines. And immaturely sticking her tongue out at them afterwards.

Silhouette sat down, accepting the fact that no new ships would enter the horizon too soon. She rubbed a plank of wood, remembering Natalia's story about this ship. How lonely she must've been, on that island by herself, rebuilding her mother's ship. Of course she'd had those guardians, but she never mentioned a single friend.

Silhouette blew her white breath into the air above her. "Two days. Two more days." she said. "And maybe we can restock."

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

"Hey, Jonathan." Natalia asked the next day at lunch. "How long will it take for the Log Pose to set on the next island?"

"Hm?" Jonathan lowered his spoon thoughtfully. "I think three days."

Natalia resisted the urge to slam her head against the table. "Three whole days? I can't take it!"

"We'll have to save the scouting for the last day then." Silhouette replied. "We don't want to be kicked off this island before the pose sets."

Natalia giggled. "Yeah."

"So that's why you left so early." Jonathan said. "I'd been planning on getting off there, but I woke up late and the island was already on the horizon."

Natalia laughed at this.

Silhouette smiled. "So tell us a little more about this girl. What's her name?"

"Elaine." Jonathan replied. "She's a real sweetheart, but that's what worries me. She's in no situation to be as nice as she is…"

"Oh?" Both girls asked, leaning in. Natalia smiled, "Do explain."

"Well, her island is ruled completely by these pirates. They're tougher than any others I've ever met. Most of them go out and terrorize the surrounding area, making it hard to land, but the main fleet is constantly at Shinsei Island."

"So to survive there, you have to fight?" Natalia guessed.

"No. Well, kind of." Jonathan replied, taking in another spoonful of soup. "You see, the pirates make the villagers pay to live."

"I've heard of this kind of set up! It's like Cocoyashi Village in East Blue." Silhouette announced.

"Well, yeah. I guess." Jonathan replied. "Only, nothing grows in Shinsei Island. It's barren except for some weird grass and evergreens. To eat, they rely solely on the surrounding islands and hunting. The pirates make the islanders pay through food supplies."

"That's despicable!" Natalia announced.

"That's where Elaine comes in." Jonathan replied, nodding once to Natalia in agreement. "She's pretty well-off, but the pirates pick on her a lot. When I was there, I stirred up a little bit of trouble, and Elaine got off much worse than I. The pirates punished her, because she defended me. The longer I stayed, the more trouble Elaine would get in, so I left, promising that I'd return when I got stronger."

"And are you stronger?" Natalia asked.

Jonathan nodded hesitantly. "I have to be. I can't wait any longer. I don't even know if I'm fighting for Elaine's liberation or to avenge her life."

"How romantic!" Silhouette declared.

"I told you; it's not like that!" Jonathan insisted.

"But," Silhouette said, after clearing her throat. "There's one thing I don't get. Why does it matter that Elaine is such a sweetheart? Wouldn't that just mean she'd be too nice to aggravate the pirates?"

"Actually, what I meant by that is that Elaine is completely against fighting. When I got her into that mess she had no other choice but to do so, and I shudder to think about the consequences." Jonathan stirred his soup restlessly. "And she's so nice, when things don't go too well she'll give up parts of her own monthly food supplies and make meals for the hungry neighbors."

"So she let's herself go without for others." Natalia said. "How sad."

Silhouette nodded gravely.

"That's why I have to get back! I want to kick that pirate off his throne!" Jonathan clenched his fists. "People who take advantage of the weak… deserve to die."

Natalia grinned. "Well said. Well, when we save Elaine, what do you plan on doing?"

"'We'?" Jonathan repeated.

Natalia only nodded once.

"I don't know what I'll do." He replied.

Natalia got a mischievous spark in her eyes. "You've got nowhere to go? And you're a good fighter? How… convenient."

"Convenient?" Silhouette and Jonathan repeated, noting the ominous tone Natalia was using.

"Yes, convenient. You see, this is a big ship for just two young, weak girls to navigate by themselves… what if there's a storm? We could get lost at sea!"

Silhouette caught on quickly. "Yeah! If only we had a _man _around to help…!"

The two shot the poor chore boy hopelessly mischievous looks.

"I-I-I-I never meant that I wanted to become a pirate! You two are insane! No! No, no, no, no, no! Having a place to stay isn't worth being chased by marines!"

Natalia nodded. "You're right. It's much better to go off on your own with so many dangers than team up with capable nakama and take advantage of the shelter a ship provides."

Silhouette nodded. "Besides! Who needs adventure?"

A bead of sweat dripped from his forehead. These women would be the death of him- he could tell.

Natalia, who'd finished eating during Jonathan's story, stood and stretched. "Excuse me, I'll go look out for marines."

Silhouette nodded, and looked back to her soup in silence.

Jonathan held back a sigh of relief. _It's still so hard to believe these women are pirates! They don't have a pirate flag and I don't even think they've given themselves a name yet! _

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

Snow blurred Silhouette's vision. It was hard enough dodging icebergs in the first place, but oh no. Some omnipresent being decided snow would compliment this challenge nicely.

Maybe Silhouette felt just a pang of sympathy as she screamed at Jonathan, "Tie up the sail! I don't care if you can't get a proper footing- find one! Make one! Do something!"

Natalia, while giggling at the target of Silhouette's rage, was steering.

"Hard left!" Silhouette screamed, spotting a rather large iceberg.

Natalia complied, spinning the wheel wildly to adjust the rudder.

"There's a cove over there! Go straight Natalia!" Silhouette yelled, noting that the ship was out of harms way. For now, at least.

"Make up your mind!" Natalia replied bitterly, growing more and more frustrated.

"I did!" Silhouette snapped.

Both girls resisted the urge to stop steering and instructing to go strangle one another and managed to drop anchor in the cove, well hidden by both the storm and cliffs.

Jonathan secured a few last minute things and took a deep breath. "We can't go ashore until this storm passes! Let's get some sleep until then, okay?"

"Yeah!" Natalia yelled back. It was a good thing Jonathan had intercepted, because Silhouette was reminded of the bitter cold and decided warming up was more important than slapping some sense into her captain.

The three slipped below deck and into their respective cabins, breaking out some extra blankets.

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

Elaine stirred the stew a little more, then tasted it. Done! She smiled to her guests, taking the large pot off the stove. Both the stove and the fireplace provided enough warmth that the children and their host barely acknowledged the blizzard raging outside.

"I don't think you'll be able to make it home tonight." Elaine said, spooning steaming stew into four bowls. "You can use my Den Den Mushi to call your parents and stay the night, okay?"

"Yes ma'am!" The eldest said, grinning his crooked grin. It was terribly sad that the three children had come from the same poor family, and Elaine, who was well-off by herself, couldn't help but lend a hand to those in need. She loved cooking for her poor community, so it was okay.

"Maybe the blizzard will delay those pirates from coming tomorrow." The middle child said quietly to his little sister.

"Yeah! But even so, if they start causing trouble again, Elaine can kick them into place like she always does!" The energetic girl cheered, picking up her spoon as stew was placed in front of her. "Itadakimasu!"

Elaine smiled happily as enjoyment from the meal passed over the child's face. "You know I only defend you when I need to."

The eldest, who'd been on the Den Den Mushi until then, entered again, scowling. "But you never defend yourself, so the pirates pick on you."

"It's alright. Let's not talk of such depressing things! It'll ruin the meal!" Elaine laughed as she double checked to make sure everyone had theirs, then took her own serving. The best thing about stew was that it warmed you and it could always be reheated.

"Elaine's the best cook ever!" The little girl cheered. "She's even better than mommy!"

"Oh, I doubt that." Elaine laughed, taking a bite out of her stew. "Your mother used to be a wonderful chef before the pirates came. When I was your age, I used to be a regular customer at your mother's restaurant. She taught me how to cook, you know."

"But you're still better than her!" The middle child exclaimed.

"Really, you two. What would your mother think if she heard you?" The children only laughed as Elaine went on about being polite and whatnot. Though she scolded them often, these children were the light of her life. She just hoped that before much longer Jonathan would return and save this place before they grew into a life of servitude towards that monster.

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

"Let's go!" Jonathan yelled, excited to be reunited with his friend.

Natalia giggled, kicking at the snow and tugging at her puffy, red jacket. Her black snow boots were cool too, black and puffy. Through all these winter clothes she could barely feel the harsh cold.

Silhouette, who wore a black jacket with red pants and hat, wasn't as lucky. She curled into herself a little and rubbed her gloves together, hoping that if they combusted it would warm her rather than burn her.

Jonathan looked like he had no problem with the snow.

Complaints aside (for the moment) the three walked into the snowy town.

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

"Thank you for walking us home, Elaine. And thanks for the leftover stew!" The eldest boy said, grinning hugely.

"No problem. If those pirates _are_ coming today, than I'd like to be in town anyway." She smiled sweetly, her long white hair falling over her shoulder as she did a happy it's-no-problem shrug. "I think I'll go to the bookstore."

"Bye!" The two younger children yelped. "See you later! Thanks for the stew! Bye!"

Elaine smiled again, waved goodbye, and made her way to the bookstore.

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

"This is her house." Jonathan said, standing in front of a cozy-looking white one-story house. He frowned. "Something's off…"

He walked up to the front door and knocked, then jiggled the doorknob. He looked back, fear in his eyes. "It's locked."

Natalia cocked an eyebrow. "So? She probably just went out."

"No." Jonathan shook his head, looking extremely frightened. "No, no, that's impossible. Elaine is too naïve to lock her door, and the people on this island are too prideful to steal. No… I think the pirates have Elaine."

Silhouette's eyes widened, and Natalia looked a little stunned.

"That's not good." Natalia replied after recovering. She kicked a snow bank. "Let's go into town and ask around. If all else fails, we can go to the pirate's base and save her… right?"

"So simple minded." Jonathan scoffed. "What makes you think she's still alive? They wouldn't have left her…"

"Still, let's go to the town and find out. That way, we'll know for sure." Silhouette suggested.

Jonathan nodded, unable to help the sinking feeling in his stomach. "Follow me, then." He replied.

Natalia shivered from the cold. Sure, the house being locked may be strange in this island, but there could be a million reasons… a million shades of gray. She looked over to Silhouette, the woman she barely knew, but had made her first mate. Her blond hair hid her eyes, but the frown on her face implied she didn't like the odds of Elaine's survival.

The closer the group came to the icy town, the more people they saw. All were running towards the town hall, all looking quite frantic.

A young boy fell, and his mother helped him up and wiped him off. "Hurry, hurry! If we're late, they'll be angry!"

Silhouette met Natalia's gaze, signaling that she'd seen the same scene. The two broke eye contact and moved on.

Silhouette had a theory.

If Elaine was missing, and people were being forced to attend a meeting of some sort… that could only mean one thing. _A public execution._

Natalia didn't come to the same conclusion, or any conclusion at all except that whatever was happening couldn't be good.

Jonathan's fists were clenched, and suddenly, he broke into a dead run, leaving Silhouette and Natalia speechless.

Natalia, as usual, recovered first. "Follow him!" She ordered, beginning to run herself.

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

Elaine looked out the window of the bookstore, then questioningly to the manager.

The old woman tsked. "Seems they weren't as late as we were hoping." She said. "I should probably get out of this store and see what's up, could you watch the store for me?"

Elaine nodded and pulled a ten pound metal ball out of her pocket. She sighed, she'd probably end up making a scene again. The pirates could never come to this town without causing some sort of ruckus. Honestly, Elaine hated fighting, but whenever Jonathan had come to this town three years ago, he'd started a fire in her. She couldn't just sit back and watch anymore… she knew Jonathan would disapprove if he'd heard she's become reclusive again.

Elaine swiped her thumb over the smooth metal in her hands. She stepped out of the bookstore, knowing her presence would unsettle the pirates.

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

"Where's Elaine?" Jonathan's disembodied voice cried out, flying over the crowd and meeting Silhouette and Natalia's ears with a ring and an echo.

"Elaine?" The pirate captain, Salem replied. He chuckled. "Where is she? Hm, I have no idea."

Jonathan clenched his fists. The man before him was a giant- literally a giant, straight out of Elbaf- with black hair turning gray. His teeth were yellow and jagged, his nails claw-like and sharp. He had a sword attached at his hip, and wore extravagant clothing accompanied with jewels. His smile was harsh, and his laughter was cold.

In all honesty, Jonathan knew at the sight of him he was no match.

"Why do you need that insect anyways? I didn't expect you to return, Jonathan." Salem grinned. "Did you really miss us that much?"

Jonathan scoffed. "No. Never, actually. And I repeat- what have you done with Elaine?"

"You make it sound as if we've tortured the girl. I assure you, we've barely touched a white hair on that pale little head of hers." He gave a nasty grin, "We always respect a nakama's parting wish."

Jonathan scowled, his hand clenching on the sword he had now unsheathed. "Then where is she?" He asked, through his teeth. "And I'm not your nakama anymore."

"That's cold, Jonathan. And after everything we've been through." Salem sighed. "Honestly, though, I have no idea where your little pet is."

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

Silhouette and Natalia pushed through the crowd just in time to see Jonathan lose it. He took his sword- a katana with the Japanese kanji for protection on it. He ran towards a giant with two broad swords on his back.

Both girl's jaws dropped.

Natalia didn't understand every aspect of this situation, but she figured out this much; two giant broad swords versus one katana. Unless Jonathan was really one excellent swordsman, he was screwed.

Jonathan dodged as the first sword came down and blocked the second with the flat of his blade. Amazingly, the katana didn't shatter into three thousand pieces and actually deflected the giant's attack.

Silhouette's left eye twitched.

Jonathan ran closer to the giant and dodged another attack, but when the sword stabbed viciously into the ground next to him, he jumped onto the flat of the sword and ran up to the giants shoulder. He slashed the giant's longer than necessary hair out of the way and once he got close enough to his neck to cause fatal damage, the giant flicked him out of the way, sending him into a nearby bookstore.

The front door fell in, two of the nearest windows burst into a shower of glass. Three bookcases fell over, and one girl with silvery white hair appeared at Jonathan's side and screamed his name.

Silhouette and Natalia were close enough to see Jonathan's eyes open, and widen in shock.

"Elaine?"

"How eventful this meeting has been already!" Salem exclaimed, stretching. "And I was only here to collect, too. I assume since you attacked, you want to take back this island?"

Jonathan stood, blood pouring from a gash on his forehead. He lifted his sword again, and smeared the blood, trying to wipe it away. "Yeah."

Natalia smirked. "I think he's got this under control, wouldn't you say?"

Silhouette looked a little unsure, but still, she nodded.

"Elaine, would you like to help?" Jonathan asked.

The girl in question lifted up a heavy-looking metal ball in reply.

He grinned. "Okay then."

The two began their attack. Jonathan found an opening between the two broad swords and gave the giant a huge gash, that probably felt like getting scratched by a kitten.

Elaine on the other hand, seemed to have disappeared. The girl appeared on the opposite side of Jonathan, wielding something that in no way resembled the previous ten-pound iron ball. It was a large sword-looking thing. It had a thin, short pole with a long blade attached. It looked more like something a butcher would use, not a swordsman- eh… woman.

Silhouette sighed and took a seat on a barrel nearby. When her captain gave her an inquisitive look, Silhouette just shrugged. "They've got it under control."

Natalia rolled her eyes and went back to quietly watching the fight.

Elaine's blade had cut a large gash- even larger than Jonathan's- along the underside of the giants wrist. Said giant jumped up, yelping in pain. Blood was falling like rain over Jonathan and Elaine, making them look more and more grotesque with every additional drop. With all the blood in the way, I couldn't tell how, but Elaine replaced her weird blade with a long, thick pole. She held it like a bat and brought it across the giants noise. The result was a flinch-educing crack. That pole that looked so much smaller in comparison to the giant, had just broke said giant's nose.

When Salem brought his hands up to cradle his surely-aching nose, Elaine stole a ride and ran up his forearm to his left shoulder, where she met Jonathan. Both seemed to talk and agree on something why Salem moaned in agony, blood flowing openly from his nose and his wrist. This time, Natalia saw the change. The pole flared up in a mess of melted iron and shaped itself in to a long chain with a single iron barb on the top. With one last nod, they began their attack.

Elaine threw her chain, and Jonathan charged at the giant's neck. However, Salem seemed to have recovered a little from the damage and was tired of being pushed around. The giant lifted his hand and swiped the pair off his shoulder. Elaine landed on top of Jonathan in a mess of rubble. The giant's hand was coming down fast to squash the two, and for a terrifying moment, Natalia thought if she didn't intercept, they'd be dead.

Elaine shifted her chain into a solid barb, like on the end of a tack. Salem jolted back, cradling his hand and falling on his butt. Elaine helped Jonathan to his feet, then the went separate ways again.

"This is getting interesting." Silhouette commented.

Natalia took a seat next to her first mate, leaning towards the wall so she wouldn't block her view.

Elaine rushed forward at Salem again, her barb melting and reforming into an axe. She reeled back and slammed it hard into the giant's ankle. Salem screamed out in agony, making Silhouette and Natalia brace themselves.

Jonathan came forward and slashed at the giant's other ankle.

"Stop!" Salem finally roared. "What do you want from me?"

Natalia blinked. "Is this guy stupid?"

"Didn't they establish that they wanted him off the island?" Silhouette asked.

"I want you off this island!" Elaine yelled. "You do nothing but hurt them, and we can't take it anymore!"

"They did now." Natalia said.

"I won't let you take advantage of these people anymore, Salem." Jonathan added.

Salem's lips curled up, revealing his yellowed teeth. Silhouette gagged at the sight.

"I should've expected this." Salem said. "But I'd never expect such a magnificent double cross from you of all people."

Jonathan's fist clenched, and Natalia cocked an eyebrow.

"I'm not part of your crew anymore. I want you off this island." Jonathan said, through gritted teeth.

"Fine, anything you wish." Salem said. "The least I could do for my old first mate."

Jonathan bowed his head, anger and shame coming out all at once. Elaine patted his back as the giant limped off towards the town where they'd made their base.

Most of the crowd cleared away quickly, but others stayed to cheer. The snow, at some point, had started falling, making that atmosphere a bit brighter. Natalia and Silhouette waited until Elaine and Jonathan were the alone.

Natalia started clapping.

Jonathan cocked an eyebrow, but Elaine looked genuinely surprised.

"Well done, nice fighting." Natalia replied. "You have a Devil's Fruit ability, I guess?"

Elaine nodded. "The Kaisei Kaisei no Mi."

"I see. So you're like a blacksmith, kind of?" Natalia asked.

Elaine nodded. "Exactly like that." Now that the battle was over, Elaine's assertive nature seemed to wash away, and a new kind of girl stood before Natalia. Someone timid and kind. She didn't look the type to deal out such damage upon a giant.

"Elaine, right?" Silhouette asked. "We're the pirates that gave Jonathan a ride here. I'm Silhouette and this is my captain, Natalia."

"Pirates?" Elaine repeated, tensing again and tossing a glance to a very amused Jonathan.

"They're not dangerous. Just a little eccentric." Jonathan said. "They don't even have bounties or a name for their crew. And it's just the two of them."

"Hey now!" Natalia said. "We're plenty dangerous. You don't know if we'll decide to burn this icy hellhole up."

"We won't." Silhouette said, directly contradicting her captain.

Natalia pouted, but said nothing, deciding to look away instead.

"Thank you for that." Elaine said, giggling.

"We're still dangerous." Natalia mumbled.

"Anyway, Elaine, what are you planning on doing now that the pirates are gone?" Silhouette asked, ignoring her sulking captain.

Natalia brightened, "Yeah! If you're not doing anything interesting, you and Jonathan should join our pirate crew! I hear you can cook." Natalia said winking.

Elaine shook her head, laughing. "I can't. If those pirates come back, I'll need to protect the village. Besides, we're going to have to work to get the economy going again, now that they're gone. I'll have a lot of hungry mouths to feed."

"What about you, Jonathan?" Natalia asked, hopefully. "Please?" She flashed the biggest, most sincere grin she could.

"I'm going to stay here and help Elaine. I'm sorry." Jonathan replied.

Natalia hung her head. "It's just going to be Silhouette and I now… It'll be so lonely… sooooo lonely…."

Silhouette hit her captain loosely on the back of the head. "Stop exaggerating, we'll be fine. Anyways, I'm more concerned about finding a place to eat and stock up."

Elaine brightened. "You should come to my house! I'll make you something that'll warm you up. I'm really grateful to you for bringing Jonathan."

"No problem!" Natalia said, grinning.

"But we can't impose. That'd be rude. We'll have to leave soon, so we'll just find a market or something-"

"There isn't a single market on this island. You can't stock up here. Most of the locals warn you on the last island unless you really, really make them mad." Elaine said.

Silhouette and Natalia exchanged a look and started mumbling things like, 'oh well, they were just really touchy.' or 'hey, we didn't know they'd react that way…'

Elaine smiled. "Well, come on. You can stay at my house while you're here."

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

The moment they'd tried it, both girls fell in love with Elaine's cooking. In the cold weather, mostly they ate stews, soups and roasts, but Elaine made each dish taste different and wonderful, bringing out the flavors of each individual ingredient and using them to compliment each other greatly. The three days spent on Shinsei Island where wonderful, even for Natalia who normally would've thrown a fit over the cold. Jonathan even helped to distract her by challenging her to a snowman building contest.

However, even though the stay was pleasant, it felt short. Still, Natalia wasn't willing to stay longer. She said she'd grown restless, and needed to sail.

"Well, I guess this is it, huh chore boy?" Natalia said, smiling at Jonathan.

Jonathan scowled. "Don't make me hate you before you leave."

"You're not capable of it." Natalia said. "You two are sure you want to stay? You don't want to experience sailing at all, Elaine? Don't you want to go to a summer island and swim?"

"I'm sorry Natalia, but no. I can't leave her-"

"Oh yes you can." A rough, old voice yelled.

"Don't stress yourself! Go back inside, obaa-san!" a young girl begged. "Mamma says you'll catch your death!"

"Obaa-san?" Elaine repeated, looking towards the source. "Obaa-san! She's right! Go back home, get inside by a fire, you'll freeze out here!"

"Oh hush, child, don't go telling me what to do. If I freeze out here, who cares? I'm old. My time's coming soon anyways." The woman ordered. "Now, Elaine. Child. I've known you since birth! Your parents were always very nice to me, now, I don't want to hear about any child of theirs feeling obligated to stay in a place like this!"

"Obaa-san…! But I-"

"Oh, but, but, but! I hear too many buts in my life. And that's exactly what you need, girl, a life." The old lady pointed her cane at Elaine accusingly. "Remember when you were little and you told me you wanted to go to sea and learn a lot of different recipes? You said you'd have a huge book, filled cover to cover with recipes from all over!"

"But, Obaa-san…!"

"But, but, but!" The old woman smacked her cane across Elaine's backside. "You get out of here. But you'd better be back to show me that recipe book, got it?"

Elaine's eyes filled with tears. "O-obaa-san…"

The cane hit Elaine's backside again. "Don't you start crying! You're not a baby. Get packed and leave, baka."

Elaine wiped her tears and nodded once, grinning hugely at the old lady.

"And you!" She pointed her cane at Jonathan. "You'd better take care of that child or I'll shove this cane up your-"

"Obaa-chan!" The young girl dried, tugging at the woman's arm. "Momma's waiting!"

"I'm coming, I'm coming." The woman muttered. She soon added something about today's youth being irresponsible and impatient.

Silhouette and Natalia exchanged a grin, then looked to Jonathan.

Jonathan let out a defeated sigh and watched after Elaine who was rushing through her home packing up things she wanted for the voyage. "You win, okay? Just no more calling me, 'chore boy.'"

"Hey, hey. I'm the captain here." Natalia stuck her tongue out. "That position entitles me to call you as many degrading things as I want."

"I'm ready!" Elaine called, holding a single suitcase.

Natalia's grin grew and grew until she finally exploded, jumping up and yelling, "Alright! Let's go!" The now-hyper captain grabbed her first mate's wrist and pulled her behind her, running all the way back to Adeline's Pride.

oo~~O~~oo~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~oo~~O~~oo

Elaine has the Kaisei Kaisei no Mi, the Reform Reform Fruit. Just clarifying that... don't want my readers confused. Jonathan is, so far, the only one without a Devil's Fruit. So he can swim. Always nice to have a lifeguard, you know?

Thank you for reading! Tell me what you think, I'd love to hear your opinions and constructive criticisms! ...Bye then!


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I'd like to throw it out there that Eiichiro Oda owns One Piece. Most of the characters in this story are original, but the setting is not. The Grand Line... North Blue... East Blue... West Blue... South Blue... All Blue... Skypeia... Luffy... Nami... Zoro... Sanji... All belong to Oda-sensei. As do all those cool characters and inventions I forgot to(was too lazy to) mention.**

~~~~~~~~~~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chapter Four: Admiral Thompson vs. Captain Natalia

~~~~~~~~~~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I'm bored." Natalia whined, probably for the fourth time in this half hour.

"I'm sorry." Jonathan replied. Both were laid out on the deck, side to side, on their stomachs, peeking out of the railing and watching the sea rush past.

Natalia's red hair was tied up normally in it a way that made it fan out behind her like a peacock's tail. Instead of wearing it, Natalia decided that in the heat of the day, it was best to use her blue jean jacket as a pillow, rather than an article of clothing. Her red shirt hugged her thin frame tightly and her blue jeans were only making the day hotter.

Beside her, Jonathan's brown hair was flying about in the wind. His loose green shirt was flapping about too, making a tad bit of an obnoxious noise. Unlike his captain, the swordsman had some sense and was wearing blue jean shorts. Both crewmates had ditched their shoes and socks somewhere next to the cabins.

It was a quiet day, and thanks to Silhouette's Kaze Kaze no Mi, the navigator was able to create an artificial wind and push Adeline's Pride forward. Elaine informed them it'd be about three weeks before they'd be able to reach the next island, and when that happened, there was a worse danger at hand.

Their little nameless pirate crew was barreling towards a marine headquarters. Natalia had reassured everyone that regardless of the danger, there were more important things at hand.

"More important than impending doom?" Silhouette said. "Do explain."

"We have yet to name our crew." Natalia said. "And we need a pirate flag."

"You're kidding me." Jonathan said. "You think naming our crew is more important than saving our lives from marines?"

"We'll jump that hurdle when we come to it." Natalia replied simply. "But I was thing something… electric-y."

"That's not a word." Silhouette said. "You could've said 'shocking.' Then you wouldn't have sounded stupid. It's too late now, though."

"I don't care." Natalia replied, sticking her tongue out. "Any suggestions?"

Jonathan leaned forward thoughtfully. "This isn't something we can change, so it has to be good. Maybe we should wait until we get bounties and bounty names."

Natalia blinked in reply. "No. No we can't wait. We need a flag and a name _now. _It has to be cool, and it has to be awesome, and I want it to strike fear into the hearts of anyone who sees it!" Natalia struck a warrior pose, pointing to the far left corner and using her chair as a footrest.

"Natalia, sit down." Silhouette replied.

Elaine cleared her throat to gain everyone's attention. "I think maybe we should wait for the bounties and bounty names. You know, a lot of pirates name their crew after their captain's bounty name."

"Well, we're not a lot of pirates. There are just four of us. And I don't want to do what everyone else does. If anything, my bounty name will be determined by our crew name." Natalia said. "Come on, there's got to be something…!"

"Electric Devil Pirates." Jonathan suggested. "It's 'shocking'. It kind of has a ring to it."

Natalia pulled a piece of paper out of nowhere and scribbled down Jonathan's suggestion. "Now we're getting somewhere! Any more?"

"Well, let's think. At this rate, we'll probably have a small crew…" Elaine said.

Silhouette nodded. "With a large variety of people."

"Wide Range Pirates!" Jonathan suggested. "The Jolly Roger could have a target around it."

Natalia nodded and scribbled it down without commenting. Truthfully, she liked the first one better.

"I've got nothing." Silhouette sighed. "Natalia? You?"

"Electric Eel Pirates!" Natalia announced, grinning widely. She scribbled it down, then frowned at the paper. "No… eel looks weird capitalized."

Silhouette peeked over her shoulder and made a face. "You're right."

"So?" Jonathan asked. "Which do you like?"

"I like the Electric Devil Pirates. We could be the Electric Devils!" Natalia said.

Elaine nodded. "It does have a nice ring to it."

"Then, it's decided?" Silhouette asked. "The Electric Devils… I think this deserves a toast."

Elaine went to the pantry and pulled out a bottle of well-aged sake and four wine glasses. She poured the drinks and handed each crewmate a glass. "Well then, to the Electric Devils!"

"Yosh!"

Glasses clinked together and laughter and merriment filled the kitchen.

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

"Sir? We've spotted a vessel." A young man said, peeking his head into Admiral Thompson's room.

"What's on the sail? Or the flag?" The admiral asked, looking up, depressed.

"Well sir, there's nothing there. It's all blank." The young government dog replied.

The admiral let out a grunt. "It's probably just a fishing ship, or smugglers or something. I'll go talk to them. Secure the ship to theirs."

"Yes sir. Right away, sir."

Slowly the admiral stood and took the picture of his young daughter. Natalia… why did she have to be corrupted by her witch of a mother?

The tired man walked aboard to see the very image of a ghost ship in front of him. His jaw dropped, and Adeline came aboard. No, not Adeline. Natalia.

Soon, a shorter, white-haired girl appeared next to his daughter. Then a blond. Then a man. Admiral Thompson couldn't believe his eyes. His baby girl ordered for the man- Jonathan, she called him- to draw his sword and break the ties of their ships.

The admiral shook off his shock and ordered his officers, "Now men! Climb aboard! Don't let them get away!

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

Natalia sat icily in her chair. Her hands and feet were tied to it, so she really had no option but to sit. Behind her, Silhouette, Jonathan and Elaine were tied up and squirming.

"Nice to see you too." Natalia murmured, looking away from her father.

"Natalia, don't be this way. Why did you run away? We found your note, but it was too blurred to read and fell in some water." Admiral Thompson looked over his daughter's crew. "You can't honestly tell me you became a pirate."

"I did." Natalia replied. "And you won't stop me, either. I'm going to go find One Piece and become the Pirate Queen."

"How many times have I told you? Natalia, you can't-"

"I can." Natalia replied. "And I'm sick of you telling me 'you can't, you can't, you can't.' I'm going to prove you wrong."

"Um, excuse me, but Natalia, how do you know him?" Silhouette asked.

Natalia growled, "This pigheaded man is my father. Or at least he was."

"Natalia, don't be like that."

"I'll be however I want."

"Would you just stop?"

"No!"

"Why? You're exactly like your mother."

"Thank you."

"That wasn't a compliment."

Natalia looked at Jonathan. His feet were untied… all of her crew's feet were untied. With one shock, her father would be out like a light, and Jonathan could find someway to get his sword to cut the crew and herself out.

"Dad?" She asked.

Admiral Thompson gave his daughter an impatient look. "Yeah?"

"Night."

"What?"

"Shokku Shokku no Nami!" A large shock wave built up in her system and shot out towards her father. The man stood still for a moment, his skin tinged a toasty brown color, and he fell with a loud thud onto his back. Natalia hobbled around to face her crew, who were all staring at her with disbelief.

"You're horrible!" Silhouette said.

"Yeah, yeah, I know." Natalia said. "Jonathan, get your sword. We need to get out of here."

"Natalia!" Silhouette said, exasperated. "You just killed your own-"

"Killed?" Natalia repeated. She burst into laughter as Jonathan cut his own ropes and then his captain's. "No, no, no. I just knocked him out. I don't get along with him, but I wouldn't _kill _him."

Natalia leaned against her father's desk and watched Jonathan move on from Silhouette's ropes to Elaine's.

"He'll wake up soon, we need to get moving." Natalia said. Then she looked down, thoughtfully. "Silhouette, make sure they get to the ship. I want to look for something."

Without questioning her captain, Silhouette nodded.

Natalia, once her crewmates were out the door, started rummaging through her father's belongings.

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

The crew waited, and waited… and waited.

Silhouette sat restlessly at the kitchen table, running her fingers through her long golden hair. Before she pulled too much of that out, she took to restlessly straightening her red shirt with black and red striped sleeves. Once she realized that was a lost cause, she attempted rearranging her position in many different ways that wouldn't expose too much through her black mini-skirt.

Even the normally calm Elaine found herself drumming restlessly against her chopping board. Unlike Silhouette, the only article of clothing she found herself rearranging was her black beret. Each time her snow-white hair fell over her shoulders, as she took the hat off, and each time, she'd tuck it back into the hat, only leaving two or three strands out by her face.

Almost an hour passed, and yet their captain did not return from the marine vessel. It got to the point where Jonathan had to literally restrain Silhouette from marching on board and stealing back their captain. Then, only ten minutes later, Elaine was restraining both Silhouette and Jonathan from marching aboard.

Then, when Elaine was just about to give in, Natalia came back with a white bag with the word 'marine' in large blue letters. The bag was bulky and well-filled.

Silhouette glared at the redhead. "What did you think you were doing in there? I mean, seriously! We were worried sick!"

"I waited for dad to wake up." Natalia replied. It was in that moment Silhouette saw the trails from tears down her captain's face.

"What happened?" Jonathan, Elaine and Silhouette chorused.

"Natalia smiled. "I was going to leave a note and steal some things-"

"Very nice." Jonathan commented.

"-but before I could leave, dad woke up and stopped me. We talked. For… a while. He let us go, but warned us he would send someone after us, because he didn't think he could do it himself. Not that he's physically weak, it's just-"

"We understand." Silhouette said.

"And he gave me the things I wanted to take." Natalia replied. "…I'm sorry I worried you."

Silhouette gave Natalia a reassuring hug. "It's alright as long as they're gone now."

"They are." Natalia replied. "I'm going to go to bed, okay?"

Silhouette nodded, and watched the redhead walk out, lagging. She seemed tired, depressed. Silhouette couldn't help but wonder if their captain had been discouraged.

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

The Pride was big enough to room fifteen people separately. At this rate, she'd have the ship filled in no time! It was an exciting thought. Natalia's room had a writing desk, a bed, a few pictures and decorations hanging on the wall, but was otherwise empty. Her closet was almost empty, but she didn't mind. She never had cared for clothes.

Natalia sat in her desk and pulled the Eternal Pose out of the drawer and rolled it around in her hand, thinking over what her father had said.

"_Natalia, you know, the reason everyone told your mother… the reason I tell you that you can't be a pirate… that you're incapable, and too weak… is because I… is because everyone knows you can. I was too late to realize you were taking it so badly. I told you that because I never wanted to lose you."_

Natalia sighed, thinking back over her response.

"_That's exactly why mom left! You're never home! You're not observant to anyone or anything around you! You know, when I was little, mom used to tell me about the handsome, brave warrior she married. A man of principal who believed heavily in right and wrong, but I've never been able to see that in you. You've been corrupted by power and wealth."_

Natalia shook her head and replaced the Eternal Pose. "I can go back…" She whispered. "but I won't. Not until I've proven that statement wrong. If I go back now, I'll only prove him right."

She shook her head and opened the bag she'd stolen. The first thing that greeted her was a picture of her, her father and her mother. They'd been happy. What had happened?

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

Silhouette watched Natalia emerge from the captains quarters carefully. The young captain seemed to be in a good mood, but who could tell with Natalia's mood swings and backwards way of thinking.

"Silhouette! Good morning! How close are we to that marine headquarters island?" Natalia asked brightly.

Silhouette smiled. "We've got another two weeks and four days of travel."

"Ugh." Natalia stuck her tongue out to express her dislike of the idea. "Do you have any good news?"

"Elaine's done with breakfast and Jonathan just finished the flag." Silhouette replied.

"Jonathan finished the flag?" Natalia repeated. She grabbed her first mate's wrist and pulled her out on deck, where Jonathan was standing proudly behind a huge black flag with an awesome Jolly Roger on it.

A red skull and crossbones with little electric streaks all around it and a crack in the upper right of the skull. Natalia's eyes brightened, if possible. The girl's eyes had already been pretty bright. "It's awesome, Jonathan!"

"I know, right?" He laughed, "If you like it, I can paint it on the sail too."

"Yes! I love it! Do it!" Natalia said, grinning like a maniac.

Jonathan grinned and gathered his supplies, ready to get to work.

"Natalia?" Silhouette asked.

The redhead turned to face her first mate. "So, what was wrong yesterday? …If you want to go back…"

"No." Natalia replied, suddenly sobered up. "No, I've started this, and I plan on finishing it. Besides! I've already got reliable nakama behind me!"

Silhouette smiled, "Well, if anything's bothering you… I am the first mate. I'll try to help… okay?"

Natalia nodded, and ran off to watch Jonathan start drawing their Jolly Roger on the sail. "Don't screw up, Jonathan!"

"Not funny, Natalia! You'll jinx me!" Jonathan yelled. Almost immediately, the can of black paint fell into the ocean, luckily not getting any on the sail. At least not anything noticeable.

Natalia fell into a fit of laughter, and Jonathan started fuming.

Silhouette watched quietly, happy her captain seemed to be back to normal. She returned to examine a map as Elaine came out and officially announced that breakfast was ready. The day had gotten off to a good start, and Silhouette found herself looking forward to a new adventure on a heavily populated marine headquarters.

oo~~O~~oo~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~oo~~O~~oo

Thank you for reading! This was a really fast cut-scene chapter. Why? Because I didn't want three hundred straight chapters of 'and thus they added a new nakama.' I'm not saying thats how it's going to be, I just don't want it to look like that's how it's going to be. Plus a while back I said something about Admiral Thompson getting a ship and following Natalia and I forgot about it for the duration of the whole... two chapters in between? I don't remember.

I added in a few conspicuous descriptions somewhere or other. I'll try and remember to add more of those later on... yeah, whoops. XD And they're not all that conspicuous anymore. XD Anyways! Hope you enjoyed! ...I'll just go then... but I won't come back unless you review :P (XD) Bye!


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I'd like to throw it out there that Eiichiro Oda owns One Piece. Most of the characters in this story are original, but the setting is not. The Grand Line... North Blue... East Blue... West Blue... South Blue... All Blue... Skypeia... Luffy... Nami... Zoro... Sanji... All belong to Oda-sensei. As do all those cool characters and inventions I forgot to(was too lazy to) mention.**

~~~~~~~~~~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chapter Five: The Battle of the Red Seas

~~~~~~~~~~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"So, tell me more." Natalia insisted.

"Natalia, what more is there to tell?" Silhouette asked. "A bunch of marines attacked some pirates. The battle was named because the massive amount of blood in the water afterwards. Firsthand accounts claimed, 'the water was thicker than oil with blood. The amount of sharks afterwards was amazing, and if you weren't dead from the battle, the sharks finished you off.'" Silhouette gave her awe-struck captain a glance. "This isn't even recent news. It happened over three years ago. I'm surprised you haven't heard of it. Your dad was involved."

"Can we please not talk about my father right now?" Natalia asked. "And I do believe I just lost interest in the Battle of the Red Seas."

"That's good. Why don't you try reading a book?" Silhouette asked. For some reason, the first mate was just getting to stock the library of her own books. Of course, being an ex-librarian, the woman insisted upon organizing them according to the Dewey Decimal System. Somehow, though, the bored captain was enjoying watching her and talking.

"Ew. People don't kill people, books kill people. And that's a fact." Natalia replied.

In reply, Silhouette came up behind the girl and hit her over the head with a dictionary. "So, whose fault was that? Mine, the book's, or yours?"

"Duh!" Natalia replied. "The book's. Mind control, Silhouette. Haven't you ever heard of reading between the lines?"

"Haven't you ever heard of silence?" Silhouette asked.

Natalia narrowed her eyes. "I think that's rhetorical."

"Then don't answer." Silhouette ordered.

"Alright then, I won't." Natalia said, crossing her arms stubbornly. A few seconds ticked by, and the only noise was Silhouette sliding books into their respective slots. Natalia released a breath. "I'm bored."

"So much for silence." Silhouette sighed. "Go bother Elaine or Jonathan, will you?"

Natalia pouted, standing. "I resent that. And with that being said, I bid you adieu." Natalia opened the door, hesitated, and looked back. "And I hope you trip over your step ladder." She stuck her tongue out and left.

After Silhouette had shoved three books in their slots, relishing the silence, Jonathan's voice rang out over the whole ship, making Silhouette sigh.

"Land ho!"

"So much for a peaceful evening." Silhouette breathed, walking aboard, ready to boss her nakama around to bring the ship in to land safely.

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

With the ship safely anchored, Silhouette handed out money for Elaine's supplies, then money for Natalia's. With Jonathan going with them to carry supplies (the poor, gullible sucker), Silhouette was setting up an evening on her own, stocking the library and protecting Natalia's precious ship. If, by any chance, she finished organizing and cleaning the books, she'd start on the log book she'd been planning on starting any minute now. As the navigator, it was her job to start it, and as the first mate, she felt the need to get very vivid details of Natalia's journey from Sauna Island to Rain Island.

Silhouette got a glass of lemonade from the kitchen and took it back to her library, ready to spend the day working.

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

"Natalia? Are you okay?" Elaine asked, seeing her captain had stopped completely, gazing starry-eyed at something in the distance.

"Natalia?" Jonathan asked, looking back at his captain. The poor sucker was already loaded down with groceries ranging from cherries to fresh meat to a sledge hammer and a new set of carving knives.

"It's… it's beautiful!" Natalia announced.

Elaine and Jonathan followed Natalia's gaze and slammed their palms at their foreheads. "A lumberyard, Natalia? Really?"

"No!" Natalia said, defensively. "This wood is way better than anything I've seen in just any old lumberyard! Can't you see the high quality? This could probably hold up the Pride in even the worst of storms, I would love to get my hands on some of this!"

"My, my, little lady, you seem to have quite the eye!" A rough man said, shoving his goggles to the top of his head, letting his russet hair fall into his eyes. He wiped his brow, "We really slaved to get some of this wood. It's the best quality, and for the best price in the whole town."

"Really?" Natalia asked, stars in her eyes.

"Really." The man chuckled. "Just this pile of planks here is going for fifty measly belli. What do you say?"

"I say how many piles do you have?" Natalia said, enthralled.

The captain and shipwright followed the man as he led her off to show her more of their piles.

Elaine and Jonathan were left with beads of sweat running down their heads.

They exchanged a look, and seemingly in complete agreement, left their captain there.

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

There was a knock on the library door, and Silhouette turned, shocked. Were her nakama back so soon? It could only have been… maybe an hour since they'd left, and the three weren't very secretive in their plans to spend the day in town.

Nonetheless, Silhouette opened the door, surprised when a crowd of marines flooded her library. Almost immediately, they began dismantling her hard work, one marine holding her back and covering her mouth. Stupid marine, what good would this do? No one would hear her if she screamed.

"Okay, very calmly, I want you to tell me your name, and the name of your captain, crew, and crewmates." The marine who appeared to be in charge ordered.

When the hand was removed from her mouth, Silhouette spat on his boots. "Screw you!"

The marine didn't seem effected. "Listen, pirate, if you just tell us your name, it'll be a lot quicker. We might even consider not executing you, since you're still pretty new to this."

"And I repeat; screw you!" Silhouette spat, making sure to hit him in that smug face of his.

The marine pulled out a handkerchief and wiped his face with a look of disgust. "Take her back to the base. Maybe she'll talk there. Leave a note for her captain, maybe he'll take the bait and pick up this little witch."

_Oh God, Natalia will definitely come! I'm sorry, sencho-san!_

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

Natalia was completely and utterly amazed as the quantity, quality and price of her load. She was directing the men to her ship, and they'd even confided in her that they didn't mind that she was a pirate. How they'd known was beyond her, but she was too far into euphoria to care. The men hefted the piles upon piles of beautiful, beautiful wood into her storage room, and the russet-haired man, Caleb, had even been kind enough to compliment her handiwork on the ship.

"Whoever built this ship did a very good job. I don't think I've seen such a well-tailored ship on the Grand Line!" He said.

"Really? Thanks!" Natalia said. "This was originally my mother's ship, but it got destroyed. I spent a few years rebuilding it, hull up."

"Wow, amazing for someone of your age. You should consider paying Water 7 a visit, they've got some really amazing shipwrights. They might give you a few tips." Caleb said. "That's where I was raised, and where most of our wood goes."

"I've heard stories about Water 7. Honestly, I can't wait to see it with my own eyes!" Natalia grinned, "Just thinking about it makes me hyper!"

Caleb grinned. "I can see that."

Natalia gave the men some of Silhouette's lemonade as payment for the transport of the wood, and it wasn't until they were gone that Natalia saw the note.

'_We found a blond woman, appearing about twenty years of age, wearing a red and black outfit, stocking a library. Judging from the flags on your vessel, we judged her to be a pirate and arrested her. If you want her back, come to the center of the island and take her from the Marine Headquarters.'_

Signed Commander Derrick Hostage.

That bastard. Natalia thought, happiness over her wood and supplies fading quickly. The hairs on the back of her neck stood at attention and sparks started flying off her forearms and fists. Someone was going to pay for kidnapping her first mate.

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

It'd been a while since Elaine had enjoyed a day like this. The weather was nice. Nice enough that she didn't need to wear and incredibly heavy jacket or obnoxiously puffy pants. Jonathan's presence was everything she'd remembered it to be, comfortable. Like that of a long-lost brother. The two were able to shake off the guilt of abandoning their captain, and have a nice lunch at a nice diner, then return to their shopping. The market they were at was actually built next to and in the shadow of the Marine Headquarters. This in no way discouraged the pirates from walking around freely.

Elaine was trying ask about a vendor's fruit, but the young man only seemed interested in flirting with Elaine. Jonathan ignored both of them, instead focusing on a disturbance in the crowd.

"Ma'am!" A male voice cried. "Ma'am, we can't let you pass."

"And why not?" An enraged, and chillingly familiar voice screamed.

Jonathan nudged Elaine, and the girl turned around, her interested gaze falling flat when she caught a glimpse of the girl causing the fuss.

"Okay, get out of my way before I have to send you flying out of my way! Those assholes kidnapped my first mate!" Natalia screamed, giving the first man a punch that fried him with the static electricity clinging to her knuckles alone. She gave the second a chilling glare, the electricity popping threateningly from her skin.

"Okay! Okay! Fine! Be suicidal!" The man said.

Natalia moved on.

"Natalia!" Jonathan and Elaine yelled, ignoring the vendor's last cry of, 'I love you!'

"What's going on?" Jonathan asked, matching Natalia's long strides.

"They've got Silhouette." Natalia announced. "They came when we weren't there, ransacked the library, and kidnapped Silhouette. You know what? They actually had the audacity to leave a note- _a note! _Right on the refrigerator door! When I find that commander, I'm kicking his ass so hard he won't be able to-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, deep breaths, Natalia. Deep breaths. Let's think rationally for a minute- _where _did they take Silhouette?" Jonathan asked, pulling Natalia to a stop, both hands on both her shoulders.

Natalia avoided eye contact, and mumbled a little childishly, "I don't know."

"You don't know?" Jonathan repeated. "So why would you want to charge in blindly?"

Natalia met Jonathan's gaze, piercing through to his very soul with pure determination. "They've got my nakama. _Our_ nakama. I feel like I shouldn't be the only one a little upset here."

"We are too, Natalia, trust me. But we can't just charge in there-"

"Well, I was going to before you stopped me."

"-with armloads of groceries and no plan, and expect everything to just fall into place!"

"I don't see why it wouldn't." Natalia said. "But, if you feel the absolute need to, go back to the ship and put up your precious groceries. I'll save Silhouette myself."

"Natalia, don't be like that." Jonathan said. "You know what I mean. Let's just get a little organized before we charge in blindly."

Natalia sighed, looking seriously distressed. "You're right."

Jonathan looked back to the empty space Elaine had once filled, mouth open to tell her something. "Where did Elaine go?" He asked, scanning the area for a pale girl topped with a black beret.

"Up here!" Elaine called, sitting on the wall that separated the market place from the Marine Headquarters. "I can see the holding cells! And there's a place with marine uniforms really close to the wall!"

Natalia smirked at Jonathan and he sighed, giving in. "Fine. But we still need a place to put the groceries."

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

"Willing to talk yet?" Commander Derrick Hostage asked.

"Yeah. How did you get stuck with a last name like 'Hostage?'" Silhouette asked, kicking her feet up on the table, ignoring the chafing the handcuffs were causing. "Did you change it, or something? 'Cause it's just weird."

"You know what I mean by 'talk', pirate."

"You see? That's why we don't get along." Silhouette huffed. "It's always 'pirate this,' 'pirate that', 'despicable pirate', 'stupid pirate'. 'Pirate, pirate, pirate!'" Silhouette grinned. "I have a name you know."

The man stood sharply, knocking his chair over and slamming his open palms on the table. "I'd call you by your name if you'd tell me your name!"

"Ask politely." Silhouette ordered.

"Will you please tell me your name." The man asked.

Silhouette stuck her lower lip out, acting as if she really needed to think this over. "Hmmm…. No. I don't think I will."

"Then at least tell me the name of your pirate crew."

"We're the Electric Devils." Silhouette announced proudly.

"Oh, are you?" Derrick said, sensing a breakthrough. "And just how many of you are there?"

"Of me? One. Lucky you." Silhouette giggled. "Of my nakama, now, well that's tough. There could be thousands, millions, maybe even more Electric Devils!"

"Would you please take this seriously?" Derrick asked.

"You're no fun, you know that, right?" Silhouette said. "You'll know how many when they come. And I'm sure you'll get names and photos and all that good bounty information."

"Could you at least give me an alias? Something I can call you until they come?" Derrick asked.

"Sure. My nickname is Sarah." Silhouette replied, giggling inwardly at her own joke.

Derrick nodded. "Okay then, Sarah, who is your captain?"

Silhouette cocked her head to the side. "You know, I just don't remember."

"That's it, take her back to her cell." Derrick ordered, talking to the two young marines that had been standing behind him, smirking every time Silhouette resisted.

The each grabbed hold of one of Silhouette's arms, and dragged the girl out of the room.

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

Jonathan stood as his nakama came out of their makeshift dressing rooms. Each girl wore a white cap with a seagull on it, a loose white shirt and a blue mini-skirt. Natalia had fixed her hair so instead of wearing her usual ponytail that sat on the top of her head and fanned out like a peacock tail, the ponytail sat much lower and ran simply down her back, leaving one red strand in her face. Elaine had fixed her hair too. Usually tucked up in her beret leaving about four strands loose, now her hair flowed freely down her back.

Jonathan nodded to the girls. "Looks good."

Elaine smiled happily, but Natalia's looks turned grim. "We're not here to play dress-up. We need to get Silhouette and get out."

"Agreed." Elaine and Jonathan said.

"Should we split up or stay together?" Elaine asked.

"Split up. Elaine, make sure our clothes aren't covering your weapon." Natalia ordered. Elaine's bag had apparently, held enough room to hold all three crewmates' clothes and her ten pound ball of iron. "Let's go find Silhouette."

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

In the hallway they'd been standing in there were, ironically, three directions you could take. Natalia went left, Elaine went right, and Jonathan took the hallway that'd pointed ahead in front of him. It didn't take Elaine long to come to an intersection, and at the end of that intersection, two marine officers.

Elaine immediately imitated what marines called, 'at attention.' Apparently, it was a pretty convincing lie, because the marines saluted back and said, "At ease, ma'am."

"I'm sorry." Elaine said, mainly by reflex, "I'm new here, and I'm kind of lost. I was assigned to feed a captive, but I seem to be way off…"

The marine nodded, "I see, I see."

"Well, it's no problem. And since it's lunchtime, I've got nothing better to do. I'll show you, okay, miss?" The other said. "You can call me Commander Ryan."

The other man walked off, muttering, "Commander Ryan, my ass."

Elaine decided to play along with the marine's game. Calling him out might lead to being caught… somehow.

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

Natalia found a sign that read, 'cafeteria.' She peeked inside and her face paled considerably. She'd never known there were so many marines! Anywhere! Natalia adjusted her uniform and took a deep calming voice. Socializing with some of these may be the only way to get to Silhouette. For her, it was worth it. She opened the door and walked up to the nearest table, ready to do whatever was necessary to steal back her first mate.

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

The first door Jonathan came across lead outside to a large courtyard. To the left, he could see marines doing all sorts of training practices- shooting ranges, archery, combat training. Honestly, it made chills run up Jonathan's spine.

You can imagine the fear that spiked when he was plowed into the ground by some invisible force. Jonathan gave a yelp of surprise and looked at the creature that had knocked him down. A German Shepherd, tongue hanging out of it's mouth, was now sniffing the pirate's chest, as if to identify him. Once the dog finished, he gave a bark, right in Jonathan's face, and leapt off him.

"Don't let him get away!" A female screamed.

Jonathan caught his collar, then stood and handed him over to the woman who'd screamed. Her black hair fell to the bottom of her shoulder blades, and her frame was shown of by the yellow dress she wore. She was soaked with soapy water, and looked quite exasperated. "I'm so sorry, these dogs don't listen to me at all."

"That's alright, really." Jonathan insisted.

"No, it's not." The girl sighed. "I got your uniform all wet."

"Accidents happen, right?" Jonathan said. "It doesn't matter, it'll dry out. It's just water. By any chance, could you point me towards the holding cells? I'm supposed to bring in a pirate for questioning."

The girl looked up at him blankly for a second, her coal gray eyes unresponsive, then nodded. "I can take you to them now, just let me put this guy back in his pen."

She lead the dog back to a chain-link fence with several other dogs held inside, each bounding around playfully. She brushed the dog hair off her hands and smiled to Jonathan. "Follow me then, sir."

Jonathan nodded, and his new marine companion led him across the courtyard and into a different building. He hoped Natalia and Elaine could find this place okay.

"So, um, what's your name?" Jonathan asked.

"Elisabeth." She replied.

Jonathan nodded. "So, you're a marine, right? Why aren't you in uniform?"

"I'm not." Elisabeth replied, simply. "I'm engaged to one, though. A few years back he went off to participate in a battle against a bunch of pirates." She chuckled sadly. "Poor fool has no sense of direction. He up and got himself lost at sea."

"Oh, I'm… I'm sorry to hear that." Jonathan said. "I'm sure he's alright."

"He is." Elisabeth said, surely. "He washed up on another island a while back and the marines sent him and his crew off to patrol. But he'll come back. He promised me… he'd come back." He could hear the pain in the girl's voice, and he decided to drop the subject.

"So, if you're not a marine, why are you working up here?" Jonathan asked.

"Oh, you know." Elisabeth replied. "Something to keep me busy. I live on this island… I always have. Just, now, the marines are feeding and housing me, so the least I can do is work for them like this. Stupid chores, you know."

"Yeah." Jonathan replied.

"Well, here we are." Elisabeth said, opening a door. The whole room was nothing but a catwalk down a long row of cages for pirates. Elisabeth kept going and about twenty cages down, she pulled out a set of keys and opened a cage where Silhouette was watching her venomously. She didn't react at all seeing Jonathan. In fact, she only reacted very slightly when Jonathan came in to get her out and heard the door rattle and slam shut behind him.

He swung around to see Elisabeth swinging her keys around smugly. "Boy, there isn't a marine here who hasn't heard my story. And, I know everyone here. You must be some kind of stupid to think you could pull one over on me!"

"You…!" Jonathan gripped the bars. Never before had he felt such a strong urge to hit a lady- which, of course, he couldn't do.

"Yep. Well, I'm going to go inform the commander of your capture." Elisabeth said. She shot Jonathan a teasing wink, "Bye."

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

Elaine grunted in aggravation and disbelief. The marine had turned on her. He was holding her arm roughly and dragging her along a row of cages filled with prisoners.

"Elaine!" Two voices, a male and a female, cried out. The marine stopped, and Elaine's eyes widened.

"Jonathan? How…?"

"Don't ask."

"Ah, so you're part of this crew." The marine sneered. "In you go then." He opened the door and roughly pushed Elaine in. She would've fallen, but luckily, Jonathan was close enough to catch her.

Silhouette, who was reclining in the corner, sighed. "Natalia's coming, I presume?"

"Yeah." Both Elaine and Jonathan replied.

"Then there's no need to worry. She's not stupid enough to get herself caught." Silhouette said. She then opened her eyes and looked to the ceiling, frowning. "At least, I hope she's not."

"That's reassuring." Jonathan said, sarcastically, taking his seat in the opposite corner.

"Hey! These bars are iron!" Elaine exclaimed.

Silhouette gave a sarcastic applaud and Jonathan quizzically raised an eyebrow. "Give the girl a prize."

Elaine scowled but gripped the bars tightly. "Kaisei Kaisei no…"

"Hey! What do you think you're doing, pirate?" A familiar voice asked.

Jonathan's jaw almost dropped as he saw Natalia, in an officer's uniform. How she'd pulled that off, he didn't know, but…!

"You'd better not be trying to escape. I'm supposed to bring you in to Commander Hostage." She said. She raised her cap a little and gave a wink, then lowered it.

One of the marines behind her stepped up. "Thompson-sama, I don't think-"

"Are you doubting me?"

"No ma'am!" the marine replied quickly, stepping back into place.

Her nakama could only imagine what the girl had done to get these followers so uptight.

"Unlock the cage and get them out." Natalia ordered, sticking her nose up.

Jonathan sighed. _She's sure putting on a show…_

"There! There she is! That's the witch that stole my uniform!" A man yelled, bursting through the door in only his boxers and a white undershirt.

The bossy smirk disappeared from Natalia's face. "Oh shit."

"You idiot!" The three of her crewmates yelled.

Natalia, secured and being thrown (quite literally) into the cage, started repeating, "Gomen, gomen, gomen, gomen!"

"And I want my uniform back too." The man said. Natalia glared at him as she stripped. Elaine's face turned bright red and she scrambled to pull the captains clothes out of her bag.

Silhouette kicked Jonathan in the head and yelled, "Have some respect and look away!"

Natalia threw the officer's clothes at him, and he smirked. "Thank you." He said, making it clear that he was thanking her for way more than just giving his uniform back.

She stuck her tongue out at him and pulled her skin-tight red shirt on, soon followed by pants and a blue jean jacket.

"S-sorry." Jonathan said, flinching away from Silhouette and a huge red bump appearing on the side of his head.

Natalia slumped down. "Now how do we get out of here?"

"You don't." Commander Derrick Hostage said, looking pretty smug for a guy who was alone. "Is this your whole crew?"

"No." Everyone but Natalia chorused.

"Yes." Natalia replied, making her friends give off exasperated hand motions.

"Ah, we have a truthful little captive here." The commander knelt down so he was eye level with Natalia. "And what's your name?"

"Natalia Thompson." She replied, proudly.

He chuckled. "So you're a little run-away."

"You could say that." She replied.

Derrick smiled. "Who's your captain?"

"I'm my captain." Natalia replied, then, jerking her thumb back to her aghast crewmates, she added. "And theirs."

"Ah, I see. So you're not broken, you're just proud." Derrick replied.

Natalia nodded once.

"Well, let's see how well your pride will hold up-"

"Wait!" Jonathan cried, afraid of what terrible things he might do to his captain. "I… I have a question."

"Oh?" Derrick straightened. "Well, ask. I'm very impatient."

Jonathan asked the first thing that came to mind. "Who was Elisabeth's fiancée? What battle did he participate in?"

Derrick smirked. "The Battle of the Red Seas."

The Electric Devil's jaws dropped.

"B-but that means…!" Silhouette gasped. She'd remained composed until this little bit of information, but having been filled in on Elisabeth's history, she'd sensed something was wrong.

"You lied to her." Jonathan said, angry. "Not a single vessel made it out of that battle, and only one man was known to survive."

"And that man is my father." Natalia added, unsure of why this mattered.

Elaine looked from Jonathan to Silhouette, confused.

"Oh big deal." Derrick said. "If I'd told that little witch she would've started a rampage using that God-forsaken Devil Fruit power. It's for our own well-being that she doesn't know."

"You sick, sick bastard!" Silhouette cursed. "Who cares about your well-being, what about hers?"

"She doesn't matter to anyone in this world anymore. Her parents passed away long ago and the only emotion the marines at this base have for her is pity. Everyone looks down on her." Commander Derrick seemed to have forgotten about breaking Natalia's spirit and turned his back. "She's worse than dirt. Nothing but a burden.

Jonathan and Silhouette's eyes widened, and Commander Derrick turned to face Elisabeth.

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

She didn't know what kind of omnipresent force had persuaded her into this situation, and she couldn't decide if it was for better or for worse. Someone had thrown the keys to this particular cell at her back, and since no one in the immediate area had been heading in that direction, she'd took it upon herself to return the things.

"He's… dead…?" Elaine asked, her eyes beginning to fill with tears. "B-but you said… everyone said…!"

"These bastards lied to you." Jonathan said, using his convenient bangs to hide his angered eyes. "I'm sorry."

Elisabeth shook her head, "N-no… No, no… this is wrong… He's alive… he has to be!"

Commander Derrick cocked an eyebrow. "Are you going to cry now?" He scoffed. "I don't have time for this."

Elisabeth bowed her head, and Commander Derrick started to walk towards the door.

"Hari…" She whispered.

"What was that?" Derrick asked, in a mocking manner.

"Hari… no…" Tears slipped down her cheeks.

"Oh no, it seems I've made the little girl cry."

Elisabeth's mournful tone changed to one of pure, unfiltered anger. "Keru!" She swung her whole body around so her foot connected with the side of the commander's face, sending him flying across the room. "You bastard! You lied to me!" Elisabeth yelled, tears running down her face. "You're a marine… marine's aren't supposed to lie to people like this! It's wrong! This isn't justice!"

"You… little…!" He stood, his cheek swollen and red, pus already beginning to form.

"Hari Hari no Naguru!" She reeled back and slammed her fist into his gut. "Hari Hari no Keru!" Another kick. "Naguru!" A punch. "Keru!" Kick. "Naguru! Keru! Naguru! Keru! Naguru! Keru!" The girl began attacking wildly, and each punch that connected instantly swelled and reddened.

Once the commander was long-since unconscious, Elisabeth fell to her knees, sobbing.

"Elisabeth…" Jonathan started.

Elisabeth threw something at him. Something that hit him in the forehead, and jingled when they hit the floor. The keys.

She stood, tears still running down her cheeks.

"Elisabeth…!"

She only shook her head and wiped away a tear. "My friends call me Ellie."

Jonathan's eyes widened.

Wordlessly, Silhouette picked up the keys and unlocked their cell. Ellie bolted, running off God-knows-where to do God-knows what.

Jonathan and Silhouette exchanged a look. Natalia stretched, then looked at the two. "Who was she?"

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

Ellie was sitting at the edge of the cove where the pirates were docked. She'd changed her outfit, and her tears had quieted. She rehearsed in her mind how to do what she was about to try.

Above her, hiding in the rocky cliffs, a silhouette of a young girl stood. She smiled warmly at the poor girl. She honestly hadn't meant to hit her in the head with those keys… she just couldn't stand seeing someone being cheated. And cheated was an understatement of what that girl had been through.

Ellie looked up at the sound of a rock falling from the top of the cliff. She'd caught a glimpse of a shadow disappearing into the moonlit night. Ellie turned back to the sea and tossed a rock in with a sigh.

"Hey." A male voice said.

Ellie didn't look up. She knew from the concern, it was probably just the people she was waiting for. "Hey."

"I'm really sorry…" Jonathan said, looking at her with those damned eyes, filled with pity. She hated being pitied. It just… didn't sit right with her.

"Stop." She ordered. "Listen, I'm only here to ask you something."

Jonathan's eyes widened, surprised.

"Who's you captain?" She asked.

"I am." Natalia said, stepping up.

"Does your ship need a doctor?" Ellie asked, pain in her eyes. "It may seem like you don't now, but a lot can come up in the future, and I'd really like to…"

"Sure!" Natalia said. "I can definitely see an upside to having a doctor!"

Ellie smiled. "Thank you. I'm Elisa- …I'm Ellie."

"I'm Natalia." the captain replied. "This is our cook, Elaine, and our navigator, Silhouette, and this is our swordsman-"

Ellie held up her hand and smiled warmly. "We've met."

"Then let's get out of here." Natalia said. "Silhouette, is the log pose set?"

"Um, yeah." Silhouette said, looking at her wrist and smiling down at the log pose.

"Great! Then let's go!" Natalia cheered, climbing the rope ladder up to the Pride.

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

Ellie didn't know why she'd decided to volunteer for night guard, but now, sitting up in the crow's nest looking up at the stars she didn't mind. She'd been counting stars for about ten minutes when a creaking board alerted her to her new nakama's presence.

"How are you feeling?" Jonathan asked.

Ellie shrugged. "I'll be fine. Life goes on, you know?"

"I know." Jonathan replied. "But still, you've been through a lot for one day."

"Story of my life." Ellie laughed. "I never did like quiet days, they always got me bored."

Jonathan smiled. "So, what made you want to join the Electric Devils?"

"Revenge." Ellie replied. "When I see them, I'm going to kill the men that killed my husband."

Jonathan nodded. "Understandable."

For a while, a comfortable quiet formed between them.

"So, what's with the bow and arrows you brought?" Jonathan asked.

"I'm an archer." Ellie replied. "I actually prefer archery to hand-to-hand combat."

"That's cool." Jonathan replied.

Another stretch of comfortable silence was interrupted by Jonathan's yawn.

Ellie smiled at him, "Go to bed before you fall asleep up here. 'Cause if you do, I'll throw you down."

"You wouldn't." Jonathan laughed.

"Don't tempt me." Was Ellie's only reply.

Jonathan, after taking a minute to decide rather or not it was worth it to stay, left.

Ellie smiled to the moon. _From now on… maybe I'll be able to see what it's like not to be used. Maybe I can have real friends for once. _Ellie beamed at the thought of getting to know these guys. She lay back on the hard wood, and with these thoughts in mind, fell asleep.

oo~~O~~oo~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~oo~~O~~oo

Ellie ate the Hari Hari no Mi- the Sting Sting Fruit- which means any punches, kicks or attacks she makes will not only hurt like you've been punched, kicked, or attacked, but like you got hit by a teenaged girl-sized bee. Yeah. Ouch. Hari Hari no Keru, the first attack she used (i think) means Sting Sting Kick. Hari Hari no Naguru is Sting Sting Punch. Any translations that I make that are wrong... blame my english to japanese dictionary thing. It's helpful, but i'm not three hundred percent sure it's truthful. *Death glares at book.*

Thanks for reading! ...I can't think of anything to say here at the moment, so I'll just skip to the part where I say, "Please review" and "Adios!"

Bye then!


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I'd like to throw it out there that Eiichiro Oda owns One Piece. Most of the characters in this story are original, but the setting is not. The Grand Line... North Blue... East Blue... West Blue... South Blue... All Blue... Skypeia... Luffy... Nami... Zoro... Sanji... All belong to Oda-sensei. As do all those cool characters and inventions I forgot to(was too lazy to) mention.**

~~~~~~~~~~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chapter Six: Welcome to the Circus

~~~~~~~~~~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Natalia was in euphoria the whole next day. She'd twirl around the ship, telling anyone stupid enough to listen all about her _precious_ new wood, and her _precious_ new materials. Jonathan, who'd accidentally bumped into her a few times, was going deaf listening to- 'the quality! The quantity! Isn't it just _beautiful_? It's all fresh too!'

Jonathan was attempting to clean up after Natalia, who was creating massive amounts of sawdust. She'd had to tie herself to the railing and jump overboard, cutting out the burnt parts of the side and replacing them with her wondrous new wood.

"Jonathan! Can you see this!" She squealed. "It's like a dream come true! I think I'm going to cry…"

Jonathan released a frustrated huff. "Wouldn't that stain your _precious wood_?"

Natalia popped up just long enough to give Jonathan a good hard slap to the back of his head. "Baka! Weren't you listening? I don't think I could stain this if I tried. Oh~! Such good quality!" Jonathan sighed and finished sweeping up sawdust, then leaned against the mast, waiting for the redhead to make more of a mess.

Jonathan watched the shadows move gently as the wind made the pirate flag flutter. A shadow passed through a spot he'd identified as the crow's nest, but when he looked up, it was gone.

"Hey, Silhouette, do you see something?" Jonathan called out, figuring that it must be the first mate who'd casted the shadow.

Said first mate stepped out of the cabin. "See something? What do you mean?" Silhouette sparked a cocky grin. "Heat's not getting to you, is it, Jonathan?"

"No, who's up in the crows nest?" Jonathan asked, refusing to take Silhouette's bait to an argument she'd win.

"No one." Silhouette replied. "Why?"

"I saw something move up there." He replied.

Silhouette shrugged. "Probably just a bird."

Before Silhouette could duck back into her library, Elaine popped out of the kitchen with a shout of, "Lunch is ready!"

Natalia pulled herself from her work and sat in the captain's seat, waiting for everyone to be seated before she started to eat.

"How's fixing the ship going?" Silhouette asked.

Jonathan flinched.

"Great! That new wood I bought was worth every belli! The quality is great, and there's so much of it I don't have to use it sparingly for a while!" Natalia jumped a little in her seat, absolutely exhilerated by her supplies.

Silhouette looked at her as if she'd just arrived by UFO.

Jonathan shook his head and started eating his lunch.

"Jonathan, I think we may have lost some groceries at the last island." Elaine said. "I had some stuff for fruit salad and all the oranges seem to be missing."

"The oranges?" Silhouette said. "Were they in a bag by themselves?"

"No. I think they might've had a few drinks in there as well." Elaine frowned. "I guess we just didn't look well enough for them."

"Yeah, that's probably it." Natalia agreed.

"So, Ellie, what's the next island?" Jonathan asked.

Ellie pursed her lips. "Well… next should be Sango Ansho*. It's a resort town, very fun."

Silhouette's eyes gleamed, "Sango Ansho? Isn't one half of that town an Indian reserve?" She grinned, "I want to ask about their artifacts!"

Jonathan smiled. "What kind of resort is it, exactly?"

"Oh, the best!" Ellie said. "They've got casinos and water parks and massages, all sorts of different things. It's really got something for everyone!"

"Great!" Natalia said, finishing up her lunch.

A loud squawk alerted the crew that the daily newspaper had arrived. Silhouette stood and walked out, pulling a few coins from an inconspicuous pocket. She paid from the paper and brought it inside, reclaiming her seat. When she opened the paper, a few bounty posters fell out.

Before anyone could give it a second thought, Ellie grabbed them and flipped through them, grinning.

"Um… Ellie, are you okay?" Jonathan asked.

Ellie looked up. "Huh? Oh, yeah… bounty posters are kind of like a hobby of mine. I collect them."

She leafed through them and gave a sigh. "That Aida girl got her bounty raised again."

"Aida?" Natalia repeated, leaning to read over the doctor's shoulder. Reading out loud, Natalia announced, "Pirate Spy, Mika Aida. Wanted alive." the young captain whistled. "Twenty-five million belli."

"Nothing new." Ellie replied, uninterested. "She's famous among marines. She's wanted alive for her vast wealth of pirate information. She's stowed away with everyone at some point in time, starting from about… ten years ago."

"What's up with her hair?" Natalia asked, turning the poster around to reveal that the girl had shoulder length lavender-colored hair and big, bright violet eyes.

Ellie shrugged.

Natalia repeated the action and put the poster down. "Sounds like an interesting character."

"She's nothing more than an expert run-away and stow-away." Ellie replied. "Some crews can go months on end without even noticing her existence. She only appears willingly to crews that amuse her. Some people call her, 'Mika Aida, the Master of Games.'"

"You know a lot about her." Elaine observed.

Ellie only nodded again, pausing at a bounty poster, then moving on. "She used to have Commander Derrick's teeth gritting every day of the week. Oh! Hey! There's our crew."

"What?" Everyone chorused, jumping out of their chairs.

"Oh, hey, we got our own article too." Ellie said, laying bounty posters out to be grabbed at. "'The Electric Devil Pirates, another new pirate crew, are already making waves in the Grand Line. Their captain, Electric Eel Natalia-"

"What?" Natalia screeched. "What kind of baka came up with that cruddy name? Do I look like an eel to them?"

"-led the crew in an assault on the Marine Headquarters stationed on the otherwise peaceful town of Omu Island*." Ellie skimmed ahead, bored with recounting events she'd witnessed. "It makes the marines sound so innocent and helpless." Ellie sighed. "Stupid liars."

"'Electric Eel' Natalia." Jonathan read, holding the dejected girl's bounty poster. "Three million belli."

"They insult me…" Natalia cried, slumping back into her chair.

"'Deadly Breeze' Silhouette." Jonathan read. "One million belli."

Silhouette looked up calmly, then went back to her coffee.

"'Blacksmith' Elaine." Jonathan smiled, "Two million belli."

Elaine grinned, "Higher than Silhouette-chan's? Really?"

Silhouette rolled her eyes.

"'Honeybee' Ellie" Jonathan read. "Two million belli."

Ellie nodded, still leafing through bounty posters.

Jonathan set the stack back in front of Ellie and smiled sheepishly. "Well! That's all! I'm going to go out on deck and-"

"Hm?" Natalia said. "But what about yours, Jonathan?"

"My what?" He asked, laughing nervously. "Oh! You mean my bounty? I… uh… don't have one I guess. Heh, heh heh…"

"You know," Ellie said, tapping her chin thoughtfully and putting her new bounty posters down. "I think I've seen a bounty poster before that looked remarkably like you, Jonathan. Though, it was cancelled because the man was thought to be dead… what was his name now…"

"Jonathan? You already had a bounty?" Natalia asked. "Cool!"

"I, uh, no…!" Jonathan said, still desperately backing up.

A little theoretical light bulb popped up over Ellie's head. "'Emerald Dragon' Jonathan G. Hartley. Twenty million belli. The problem with the poster was that in the picture he was too bloody for you to see anything but his eyes."

Jonathan's face reddened. "I… uh… I can explain!"

"It's because you were Salem's first mate, right?" Elaine asked.

Jonathan lowered his head and showed them the bounty poster he'd been hiding behind his back. He was extremely close to taking out the camera man, ready to slash through his waist, which, if memory served, he had. The only features about the man that weren't blocked out by the massive amount of blood- both his own and that of others- was his emerald green eyes, narrowed with rage and bloodlust, and short spots where brown hair stuck out. His sword was also very detailed, the kanji for 'protection' stuck out even more with blood stuck to it.

Ellie cocked an eyebrow. Silhouette looked absolutely horrified. Natalia whistled, brow raised. Elaine looked away, disturbed by the amount of blood.

Jonathan placed the poster on the table. "That was the past. I was hoping they'd have forgotten about this… or given me a new poster, or something. This…" he put his hand over the picture and crumpled it. "This isn't me. Not anymore."

"'Emerald Dragon' is a cool bounty name, though." Natalia said. "Way better than 'Electric Eel.'"

Jonathan rolled his eyes, and went out on deck to start sweeping again.

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

Time passed incredibly slowly, and soon, Natalia got delirious. Or, at least, that's the conclusion Jonathan came to when Natalia took the binoculars up to the crows nest and shouted back, "I see a really big floating circus tent!"

Jonathan didn't want to dignify this with a response, and thought it best to summon Ellie who was in the library with Silhouette, organizing her research books. "Hey, doctor. The captain's delirious. I think she may be dehydrated."

Ellie looked up sharply, "I'll go get my supplies." She replied, running past him into the doctor's office. She returned quickly with a ready-made first aid kit. "Where's the patient?"

Jonathan simply jerked his thumb back to the crows nest.

"Hey! Hey, Jonathan! Where'd you go?" Natalia was shouting. "I'm telling you! There's a circus tent floating out in the sea!"

Ellie cocked an eyebrow and sighed, gripping her first-aid kit tighter. "BAKA! I DON'T LIKE FALSE ALARMS! IT'S NOT FUNNY!" Ellie screamed, slamming the kit against the swordsman's head so hard he flew a few feet. "Don't EVER give me another false alarm, okay?"

Elaine and Silhouette poked their heads out of the kitchen and library.

"What's going on?" Elaine asked, stepping out hesitantly.

"Jonathan's being stupid and Natalia spotted the island." Ellie replied.

"Hey!" Jonathan yelped, standing wobbly. "I'm not being stupid!"

"Shut up and come here." Ellie commanded, opening her first aid kit. "Not only are you calling false alarms, you've gone and got yourself a head injury."

"YOU'RE THE ONE WHO GAVE ME THE HEAD INJURY, WITCH!" Jonathan yelled.

Ellie pushed him into a sitting position and hit the opposite side with a tongue depressor. "Don't talk back."

"You're insane!" Jonathan spat.

Ellie gave him a warning look, and the man quieted, letting the violent doctor heal him.

"I thought she was hallucinating." Jonathan muttered, a bit bitterly as Ellie walked away with her dangerous and hard first aid kit.

"A lot of people do." Ellie yelled from her medical office. "When all you can see is a huge 'floating circus tent' people tend to think you're lying or hallucinating. It's actually part of the island though. Inside is the world's biggest, most elaborate circus. So many acts that if you saw them all your head would explode- or something like that."

Jonathan nodded. "But I hardly think that was worth hitting me so hard for."

"I don't like liars." Ellie replied.

Jonathan rolled his eyes.

"More importantly, can we stock up here? Or, do we even need to?" Silhouette asked.

"You can." Ellie replied.

"How long is it to the next island?" Elaine asked. "We have enough to last for about a month on sea."

"That's more than enough. We're in the 'Hoshi Beruto.'* It's a large bunch of islands that run extremely close together- only about a week or two apart. From Sauna Island to… I think Jaya." Ellie said. "It actually forms a constellation from a bird's eye view. I think it was a large Sea King."

"Cool." Natalia said, appearing beside Ellie suddenly. "Which end is Sauna Island?"

"The tail." Ellie replied. "We should start getting ready to land, right Silhouette?"

"Yeah."

With that, the crew was thrown into action. Silhouette, by order of the captain, was told to put wind in the sails so they could go faster. Within ten minutes, the Adeline's Pride had landed on land in the shade of a huge circus tent.

"Okay everyone, be careful now that we have bounties, okay?" Silhouette said. "We don't need supplies here, so I'm just giving you enough to spend at the circus, or gambling, or whatever you want to do. Who's watching the ship?"

"I will." Ellie replied. "I don't much care for the circus, and I'm not a big gambler, so I might as well stay and get a few extra chores done."

Silhouette nodded. "Then meet back at the ship at sundown. Don't make us come look for you."

With that, Natalia dragged Elaine off with her, and Jonathan only followed slowly, shaking his head in an amused manner.

"You're sure you're going to be okay guarding the ship?" Silhouette asked, adjusting her red backpack.

Ellie only nodded.

Silhouette smiled. "Thanks. I'll be all the way on the other half of the island, so I don't know if I'll make it back before tomorrow. I'm sure you can keep Natalia in line, right?"

Ellie nodded again. "It'll be fine, just go, Silhouette."

Silhouette smiled gratefully, "Thanks again, Ellie!" With that said, she sprinted off towards the circus tent, ready to find an Indian Tribe.

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

Ellie sat in her office, reading over a book she'd borrowed from Silhouette's library. For a while, she'd tried reading in there, but the lack of light and hard wood chairs weren't doing it for her. So, she moved to her office with her padded swivel chair and read at her desk.

Unfortunately, her black hair kept falling out of her headband and into her eyes. Dutifully, she tucked it back. The rest was in a ponytail, mild compared to Natalia's peacock tail of a ponytail. Her outfit was disturbing her too. The yellow shirt _looked_ nice, but she just couldn't get comfortable in it. It seemed that she wasn't the type to look after a ship for hours at a time. She sighed, shutting her book and standing, smoothing out the wrinkles of the yellow fabric of the shirt and the black fabric of the skirt. She picked at her archer's gloves too. They were supposed to give her better grip on her bow, and she liked to wear them at all times on the ship. Mainly because no one knew when an attack would arise, so it was just convenient.

Stretching, Ellie made her way to the kitchen to find the snacks Elaine had lain out for her. She sat and picked at them before actually eating one of the candies. This island had never been against pirates- who were, in fact, most of their business- but still, other pirates would come aboard another's ship and steal their gold and treasures.

Ellie restlessly abandoned the sweets and walked back on board, picking up her bow and arrows, deciding to practice a little. It couldn't hurt, she could always make more arrows.

She set her sights on a rocky area and aimed for a hole just big enough for an arrow to stab into. She pulled the band back, aiming expertly, closing her left eye to focus her right. She let the arrow fly and watched as it dug deep into the hole, knocking a few smaller chunks of gravel away. She smiled and took aim again.

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

Elaine and Jonathan watched over Natalia, feeling more and more like babysitters every second.

"Hello, young miss! Would you like to play?" A man asked, sitting straight behind a booth.

"What's the game?" Natalia replied simply, grinning like a maniac.

The man smiled. Not a normal, casual smile, more like a fisherman's smile when he got a fish on his hook. "Well, ma'am, you just tell me three facts about yourself and I'll try and guess your age and the island you came off of."

Natalia blinked. "How?"

"I'm psychic." The man replied, still grinning that Cheshire Cat smile.

"Come on, Natalia, this guy isn't worth our time." Jonathan said, tugging at his captain.

The man's grin vanished. "You don't believe me, sir? How about a free reading, then?"

Jonathan rolled his eyes. "No thanks, come on Natalia, Elaine."

The three walked off, leaving the man to sulk in the loss of business.

"Can we get some cotton candy?" Natalia asked, only about two minutes afterwards.

"Do you see any cotton candy?" Jonathan asked. They were far past the concession stands, and into the gaming booths.

Natalia scowled.

"Natalia, those tickets you bought will expire if we don't get to the tent soon." Elaine said. "Don't you want to see the circus?"

"Yeah! Let's head back then!" The redhead replied, hastily. "We can get some cotton candy on the way."

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

Silhouette screeched a little as a branch snapped back into place, slamming it's way to the back of her head. She'd entered the woods shortly after arriving in the circus. She wanted to see a show, but the Indian artifacts possibly laying around were too good of a chance to pass up.

She grinned, pushing forward. Finally, she came to a clearing. Abandoned buildings filled the area. The people in this area must've died out, unable to hunt properly with the circus going on so close. She frowned at how foreigners had ruined what was once such a strong culture. She shook her head and started to explore the buildings, ready to find new artifacts and possibly records of this area's former residents.

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

The ring leader looked about the crowd, pausing, then continued. "Ladies and gentlemen, good evening. You've seen, and seeing is believing. Your ears and your eyes will be bleeding, please check to see if your still breathing. Hold tight, because the show, it's not over. If you will, please, move in closer. You're about to be bowled over, by the wonders you're about to behold here. Welcome to the show, we're glad you came along*. Now, without further adieu, you've heard of lion tamers, bear tamers, tiger tamers and more, but only in this circus, in this tent, could you, would you, will you ever see a real, live human mastering, taming, risking her life before a real! Live! Sea King!"

The crowd erupted with wild applause as a curtain was lifted to reveal a lone woman in a wet suit on top of a diving board. She took a bow to her left, then to her right, then to the center. A large chamber opened below the tank, and a long snake-like creature burst out of the water. It's head was savage, it's scales striped red and yellow. It's fiery red eyes searched the crowd, as if searching for the source of it's discomfort. Two of it's long whiskers shot out and lashed at the crowd, but before the could do any damage, the Sea King tamer took a whip off her belt and sent out a whip that electrified the sea king.

Elaine, Natalia, and Jonathan's jaws dropped.

The woman took a few more bows in the time it took for the now severely angered sea king to face her.

It opened it's mouth to roar and she let another shocking whip slash at it's throat. "Silence! I am your master." The woman announced.

"This is…!" Elaine started, speechless.

Natalia settled back into her seat, glaring daggers at the tamer. "Despicable."

"Agreed." Both Elaine and Jonathan replied.

Then, as if to prove her statement, the woman dived head first into the water. The sea king followed suit, probably assured it was safe in it's own terrain.

"I can't watch." Elaine said, burying her face in Jonathan's chest*.

The woman whipped it three more times as it tried to attack her, and the crowd was still cheering.

How could they cheer for this? Regardless of size and attitude, a sea king was just as it's name suggested- a king! This was a degrading, horrid act. Especially for a creature so proud.

Natalia found herself clenching her fists around the wood of the stands she was seated in.

"Tell me when it's over." Elaine whimpered.

The sea king finally got close enough to nose under the woman and knock her up ten feet into the water, and she landed back on the diving board. The crowd was deathly quiet.

Except for one certain redhead who couldn't hold back her laughter.

A spotlight washed over the three pirates, and the wetsuit woman yelled, "Just what's so damned funny?"

Natalia dried her tears of laughter. "I… I'm sorry… W… what kind of idiot puts on a show like this?"

"What do you mean?" The woman demanded.

Natalia stood, pulling on her blue jean jacket. "Elaine, Jonathan, let's go. This is stupid."

The two stood and nodded, following their captain down the stairs. Just before they left, Natalia turned around, swiping her hand over an area and made a section of electricity, that knocked a poisonous barb from the air.

"Attacking from behind is disgraceful*, you know." Natalia said, before turning and leaving.

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

"A sea king?" Ellie repeated, taking another bite of the stir-fry Elaine had made. "They'd captured a sea king? Really?"

Natalia nodded. "Then, when we were trying to leave, they shot a poisonous barb at us. Some circus, huh?"

"You offended them," Ellie replied. "but an act like that is… bad. Really bad."

"I didn't even know capturing and holding sea kings was legal." Elaine replied. "I knew a guy back on my island who got in a lot of trouble just for bringing one in from a fishing trip!"

"It's not legal." Ellie replied. "The world government discourages it. They say, 'sea kings attack pirates. If we kill them off, pirates will have it easy.'"

"They attack marines too." Jonathan said.

Ellie shrugged. "They used to. Now, marines have this whistle you can blow that calms them. The have another you can blow that enrages them. They blow that when a pirate ship is near, then they run off and let the pirates deal with it.

"Clever." Natalia replied. "Marines really are smart."

"Pirates don't compliment marines, Natalia, it's not how life works." Ellie said.

Natalia shrugged. "It's always good to respect your opponent."

Ellie rolled her eyes, and a comfortable silence stretched about the Pride's kitchen.

Until…

"Hey guys, what's with the mob of circus acts?" Silhouette asked, entering.

"Hey! You're back!" Natalia observed.

Silhouette nodded. "Seriously, though, I think they're planning an attack… you guys don't know anything that could've provoked them, do you?"

Elaine, Ellie and Jonathan looked to Natalia. Natalia simply shrugged and returned her attention to her dinner.

"Well, once we finish eating we'll keep an eye out." Ellie replied.

Jonathan pushed his four-fifths of an empty plate away. "I'm finished, I'll go be the look-out."

The crew nodded as Jonathan disappeared, taking his katana with him.

"Silhouette, are you hungry? Let me heat something up for you…"

"No, I'm fine, but thanks anyways, Elaine." Silhouette sat down for a moment, setting her backpack on the ground. "You guys will never guess what I found!"

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

Slowly, one at a time, each crew mate finished dinner. Silhouette came out of the kitchen first, then Ellie, then Natalia, then Elaine much later, who'd had to wash dishes. As the night progressed, they relaxed more and more.

From the crows nest, Ellie was hugging her bow with her quiver of arrows secured on her back. She was laid back, eyes drooping. Below her, on deck, Elaine was laying on her stomach, rolling her ten pound ball of iron back and forth like a cat playing with yarn. Jonathan was sitting, leaning against the cabins and watching the tide roll in. Silhouette was sitting against the door to the library, ready to defend it should some unfortunate soul decide to burst in and destroy it again. Natalia was sending electric shocks at the fish swimming below her, just for amusement.

They were all 'on alert' but somehow, no one was noticing the horde of angry circus acts coming at them with torches and swords drawn. That was, no one noticed it, until the broom fell in that certain area. Everyone looked at it at the same time, wondering what in the world had knocked it down with the current lack of a strong wind.

"Here comes trouble!" Ellie announced, loading and aiming her bow. She shot the ring leader's torch out of his hand before he could touch it to the Pride. It fell to the ground, hissing as it died out. She repeated this three more, each time someone (or something) tried to burn the ship.

Silhouette took care of the rest, shouting, "Kaze Kaze no Soyokaze*!" A gust of wind swept from directly above Silhouette down to the attackers, blowing away the flames.

The circus acts looked at their torches, dropped them, and picked up their weapons, rushing up the ladder and onto the Pride.

"Don't let them break the ship!" Was Natalia's only battle cry.

Immediately, the blood was flying.

Ellie shot some weirdo guy who was already making his way up to the crows nest, and another who was attempting to attack Elaine from behind.

"Hari Hari no Ya*!" The woman yelled, firing an arrow that buried itself in some unfortunate fellow's shoulder blade. The man fell to the ground with severe convulsions, foaming at the mouth.

Natalia, at the edge of her ship, was making sure as little people as possible could get on deck. "Shokku Shokku no Hoshutsu*!" She yelled, knocking a few people back with the discharge. "Shokku Shokku no Hoshutsu! Hoshutsu! Hoshutsu!"

"Natalia!" Ellie yelped, seeing a man raise his sword at Natalia's back.

The redhead turned, grabbed the flat of the blade, and used it as a lightening rod. "Hoshutsu!"

Elaine was fighting with a long iron pole. She'd only defend herself; she just couldn't bring herself to attack someone. She batted away a sword and mumbled, "Kaisei Kaisei no Naosu*." Instantly, the neat little slash in her weapon disappeared.

She moved on, until she heard a cry of, "Hari Hari no Ya!" and her opponent dropped to the deck with convulsions and a frothing mouth.

Elaine's eyes opened and she looked to Ellie who was now repeating the attack at a man trying to get up to the crows nest. He was an acrobat, and doing a wondrous job of avoiding her arrows. Looking to repay Ellie's kindness, Elaine yelled, "Kaisei Kaisei no Batto*!" and slammed her newly formed baseball bat into the back of the man's head.

Ellie's coal gray eyes widened out of shock and shot a normal arrow at the man behind Elaine.

Natalia finally got everyone off the boat unconscious, and twirled to help with the dwindling number of people left on the ship.

Out of nowhere, with a rather large sword, the ring leader appeared. Natalia smirked. "I thought ring leaders kept whips."

"Tamers have whips." He replied, coming at her with the sword.

Natalia twirled out of the way as the sword came down hard, slashing through the railing. Her brown eyes flashed dangerously. He stuck again, this time slashing through the support beam of the cabins.

"Break something else and I'll break your neck." Natalia warned.

With a smartass smirk, the ring leader stabbed his sword into the floorboards and leaned on it. "Now, why would I break something?"

Ellie was about to attempt to take out one of the five guys sword fighting Jonathan at once, when a cool metal blade pressed against her neck. A low, feminine voice whispered, "Drop the bow."

Ellie obeyed, and the woman backed away, revealing her true form. Large bust, small waist, large hips, and four tentacles for legs. She had another four for arms, and her hair was black as the ink Ellie was sure she leaked.

"An octopus." Ellie said. "You're an octopus-woman."

The woman's face heated up. "I still got you to drop your bow. Interfering in such a way is cheating, isn't it?"

"No." Ellie replied. "No, if you had a bow and arrow, I'd be fair game. It's not my fault you don't. Now, let's wrap this up. I've got to help my friends."

Octopi woman took several daggers out of her belt so each hand held one. Ellie's smirk disappeared, just in time for her to dodge the first bunch of strikes. "Oh shit."

Jonathan was surrounded by five men, too busy fending off every one else's attacks to make any of his own. It was a feat that would've been made oh so much easier with another sword. He was much more familiar with two-sword stylings, but he'd shattered his second sword long ago. Like he was now, whirling around blocking two or three strikes at a time with both his boot and his sword was not an easy task. Finally, he saw a split second of an opening and kicked one man away. He slashed another in the gut and managed to block a simultaneous blow from the three remaining men. He took a deep breath, and with their swords pushing against his in a battle of strength, Jonathan let them push him back a little, then ran forward, pushing them over the edge and into the sea.

Before he took it easy and watched them thrash, the turned and put his sword to the throat of the man he'd kicked away.

A slow applaud formed from the mast, and Jonathan dared to look away long enough to identify some weird guy in a leopard-skin outfit. He looked like he was going for 'world's strongest man' or something. Jonathan kicked the last remnant of those five men overboard and put his full attention on Mr. Sarcastic Applause.

"You're very skilled. Allow me to show me your flaws." He stated, pulling out a sword.

Jonathan nodded darkly, and raised his sword to signal the start of a battle.

Elaine blocked several blows at once, becoming a bit more frantic with the sudden loss of Ellie's coverage. The enemies were dropping like flies at the hands of her nakama, and the biggest amount of survivors were the ones who'd attacked Elaine and Silhouette. The girls were now fighting back to back, Silhouette fighting with a metal pole very, very similar to that Elaine was blocking with. Silhouette would smack one away every now and then, but with the huge crowd, more and more blows were being made.

Finally, Silhouette took a deep breath and yelled, "Kaze Kaze no Bakuhatsu*!" She swung her pole hard in a slashing motion, and her Devil Fruit power amplified the burst of wind it created, sending most of her enemies over the rails of the Pride. The remaining three were easy. She blocked, smacked, blocked, smacked, blocked, and smacked each over the head. A woman stepped out with eight spider legs poking out of her back, besides her two human arms and legs. Attached to her backside was a large black attachment with a red hourglass on it. She grinned, and exposed two white fangs, dripping with poison.

Silhouette gulped, but positioned herself to fight the arachnid woman.

Elaine glanced in that direction, gaped and turned back to block more attacks. She knew she couldn't block these guys forever, and it was time to end it so she mumbled quickly, "I'm sorry- Kaisei Kaisei no Ono*!" Her pole reformed quickly into a small axe. The men laughed. Elaine slashed through their swords, thus knocking the hysterical grins off their faces. With their weapons gone, the men and women retreated, jumping into the sea by the ship.

Elaine sighed and leaned against the kitchen door, wiping her brow and using her beret to fan her face.

"You're not done just yet." The 'Sea King Tamer' said, coldly. "The disrespect your captain showed is going to be paid for by this whole pathetic crew. In a circus, you can't mess with one person and not expect the others to defend them. It's like a family."

Elaine nodded. "So is a pirate crew. You can't hurt our nakama, or our captain, without the rest of us retaliating. I'm afraid you deserved that disrespect, too. A sea king is just what the name suggests. A king of the sea. Natalia and I believe the concept between hiding behind a whip in front of a fully grown sea king is a horrid thing to do… and it's not worth our time to watch."

"You little…!" The tamer spat. "You'll pay for your insolence."

Elaine closed her eyes and took a deep breath. _This is for the Sea King, and for Natalia._ "Kaisei Kaisei no Kusari*!" She said, forming her pole into a lengthy chain.

The tamer unfurled her whip and grinned.

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

Natalia dodged another blow from the ring leader. It seemed her whole crew was all taking on circus freaks one on one. The weaker enemies had been discarded over the deck in one way or another. Natalia picked up a section of her poor, poor railing and used it to block another strike.

The ring leader got one hit in by feinting one strike and performing another, slicing through the sixteen-year-old's calf. Natalia screamed out in pain and slammed the railing over the man's head, breaking the railing, but causing no real damage to the ring leader. In fact, he sneered. "You pirates… you always think you can say whatever… do whatever you want. You think you're the first pirate captain to come through here and disrupt our show and run off our business? You're not. You're not even close to it. And you'll be beaten, just like the others, for your own stupidity."

Natalia dodged a killing blow and looked for another weapon when she came across something that'd work. She grinned. The same oh-so-useful broom that had alerted them to the circus' presence in the first place. She used it to block another killing blow and it split in half, but it'd served it's purpose.

"Dammit! Doesn't anything on this ship conduct electricity?" She yelled, slamming both halves of the broom into both sides of the rind leader's face.

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

Elaine fell on her butt, the electricity that had just been conducted through her iron weapon temporarily paralyzing her. She couldn't fight electricity with metal! It just didn't work. Elaine felt the whip slap and curl around her wrist and she screamed out as another shock went through her. She fell flat this time, barely able to breathe through all the pain. Stars clouded her vision, and she couldn't even get the pleasure of a break.

The tamer grabbed a fistful of Elaine's loose, silver hair and pulled her to her feet. The whip wrapped itself around Elaine's waist and sent another agonizing strike through her system. "Stupid girl! Using a metal chain? What were you thinking?"

Elaine heaved, coughing up blood.

"Maybe, with one more shock, your nakama won't have to suffer through your stupidity anymore." The woman said. Before the whip could hit Elaine's targeted neck, a rod that clearly came from the railing of the ship absorbed the shock and fell.

A little theoretical light bulb popped up over Elaine's head. She looked over to Natalia just in time to hear her cry of, "Dammit! Doesn't anything on this ship conduct electricity?" Elaine even managed to smile a little at the irony.

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

Ellie knocked one dagger out of the way and narrowly escaped another. She twirled around, agonizingly close to her arrows, and had to block another blow. It was amazing that through all these blows she was blocking with nothing but her own hands, she hadn't gotten a scratch.

Ellie ran up and grabbed all eight of the woman's arms and forced them up, hoping they'd drop the daggers. The woman smirked, which twisted her face in the most horrid way imaginable, and gave Ellie a rough kick to the stomach.

Ellie stumbled back, attempting to stay in the crows nest. The woman came closer, still slashing with those eight daggers.

Ellie put all her energy in blocking the blows. Faced with no other option with her back against the wall, Ellie blocked four of the blows, but got four daggers in one side. She gasped, sending a mouthful of blood all over octopi woman.

The doctor never believed in giving up. She wouldn't give up on a patient until the very end, and she wouldn't give up on a fight. However, with blood literally flowing out of her side, she was loosing her strength and her stamina.

Weakly, she raised a fist and managed a weak, "Hari… Hari…. No….. Naguru…*" and simply touched her fist to Octopi Woman.

She laughed. The woman laughed, but then it dawned on her what had happened. She dropped four daggers and held the sting with tear-filled eyes.

"Hari Hari no…" Ellie coughed up a little more blood. "Keru.*" she raised her leg, but cried out in pain as she ripped the wound more. Her foot just barely came into contact with the octopi-woman, but still, she screamed in agony. "Hari Hari no…" Ellie rasped, coughing up even more blood. "Ya." She grabbed an arrow out of her quiver and stabbed it into the woman's side, right where her four daggers had hit. The woman gave in to a seizure and her mouth began foaming, just like the other's had, but with blood added into the mix. "…Keru." Ellie said, kicking the woman spitefully.

She lay down in the crows nest, too exhausted to move, or to celebrate her victory.

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

Jonathan locked swords with the man, each pushing against each other with as much force as possible. Evenly matched again, they split, and slammed swords together again. This wasn't so much a test of strength as a test of stamina, now. Neither men were backing down, either.

"Are you… breaking yet… you… little runt?" The man grunted, pushing back and slashing at Jonathan.

Jonathan blocked it and grinned, genuinely considering laughing at the other's strain. "Not at all, meathead."

"Why you…!" The man slashed again, making Jonathan jump back, but take a well aimed slash himself. The man looked up, shocked, as he felt the blood Jonathan had drawn drip down his cheek. "You little…!" he rushed forward and tried to stab Jonathan, but the smaller of the men leapt aside and slashed the meathead on the arm.

Jonathan, not weighted down with as much muscle as the other man, was able to dodge easier, and was a slimmer target. However, with those massive arms, the other man could easily tear him in half with one blow.

The two kept at their little dance until there was a mistake and something hit him in the head- hard. He fell to his side and got a slash across his stomach, which immediately started letting out a whole river of blood.

"Shit!" Jonathan cried out. Another projectile flew over his head, and he identified it as part of the Pride. Jonathan looked over at Natalia who was battling furiously with half a broom, on her knees. His eye twitched as he saw the blood dripping off a leg she couldn't stand on.

Natalia threw a worried glance at him- _She's worried about me? She's bleeding a gallon a minute! …Oh wait…_ Jonathan ripped his shirt off, thankful for whatever was distracting the brute before him, and shoved it on his stomach to try and slow the bleeding at the very least.

He took his sword back just in time to block a blow and deal one out.

"You can't go much longer with a wound like that!" The man laughed. A shadow fell over his eyes as he stood. Eyes tell the truth, and the truth was, Jonathan didn't want this man to know just how much pain he was in. He lifted the sword and pointed it at the other man. "Yeah. I can."

The man's face went from peach to raspberry in under one point three seconds. "You little brat!"

With one arm, Jonathan redirected the blow, and slashed through the man's collar bone. He raised his sword a final time before his eyes rolled back and he collapsed. Jonathan released a breath and sat against the railing, his sword holding his shirt down as he fell unconscious.

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

Silhouette yelped and jumped aside as a long spidery leg stabbed through the floor of the Pride. "You crazy… thing!" Silhouette screamed, blocking as the woman shot a spider web at her. Luckily, the metal pole was holding out. Unluckily, it was covered in spider webs Silhouette had no desire to touch or even be near.

Another leg stabbed a hole in the floor beside Silhouette. She tried to jump to the side again and was blocked with another leg. In front of her was spider woman. Silhouette was about to turn and run, but a big, black, hairy leg blocked her way.

Silhouette turned slowly back to the spider in front of her and screamed as she saw it was now walking on it's human legs. Slowly, the woman drew nearer. "Little girl, you didn't put up much of a-"

Her sentence was cut off by a metal pole to the face.

The woman reeled back, pulling her spider legs back as well, using them to shield herself.

Silhouette shuddered. "I've never wanted an oversized flyswatter more in my life."

The woman's legs shot out and a web secured Silhouette's pole to them. Silhouette screeched as the woman spat on the floor, her venomous saliva burning a hole the size of Silhouette's fist. Her red eyes sparkled as she stalked forward, ready to put the same hole in Silhouette.

Instinctively, she put her hand up and yelped. "Kaze Kaze no Yari*!"

Surprisingly enough, the wind did as Silhouette instructed. Forming a spear, it struck through the spider woman's chest and disappearing into a gentle breeze. Silhouette watched the spider fall back, then looked down at her hand, and fainted.

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

Elaine escaped the tamer's grasp and ran wildly towards her captain, crying inwardly when she realized she'd stepped over Silhouette's body. She quickly formed an idea and stole three chain links from her chain, but threw the rest at Natalia, screaming, "Catch!"

Natalia caught the chain, then threw Elaine the two broom halves. Elaine used her ability to connect the shattered parts of the broom, making the weapon into nunchucks. She twirled them experimentally, then gave her opponent a smile. "Okay, I won't loose this time!"

She laughed. "How ridiculous!" She flicked her whip at Elaine, and Elaine twirled her newly acquired weapon, wrapping the whip and throwing it to the side. The tamer only looked, shocked, at her now-empty hand. Elaine felt a little queasy at the thought, but smacked the tamer in the head once, knocking her out.

"S-sorry." The cook said stepping over her and rushing to Silhouette's aid.

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

Natalia flicked her new chain happily. "You know, metal is a great conductor."

The ring leader snarled and slashed his sword again. Natalia whipped her chain around and it coiled around the man's sword. She could've easily pulled it out of his grasp, but instead, she announced, "Shokku Shokku no Hoshutsu."

The discharge flowed easily through the metal and sent the ring leader flying over the edge of the Pride.

Natalia ran after him and peered over the side, yelling, "That's what you get for damaging my ship, asshole!"

She looked back and what she saw brought tears to her eyes. Jonathan, in a pool of his own blood. If he was breathing, it was too slight for her to tell. Silhouette, unconscious on the deck, Elaine crying over her, which wasn't good at all. Ellie was nowhere to be seen.

Natalia quite literally kicked every single offending carnie of her ship and she didn't even stop to think if they were awake or alive enough to drown. When she found her doctor, the fish woman got thrown from the crows nest. Needless to say, Natalia's fury was something fierce.

Elaine and Natalia moved their nakama. Silhouette, who didn't seem hurt at all, was placed in her room with an ice pack on her head. Ellie was bandaged and lain in the captain's quarters because it was closest. Elaine protested when Natalia suggested this, but Natalia snapped, in a rather horrid mood, "I don't care if I get blood on my bed! I'd rather sleep in a pool of blood my whole life than loose a crewmate!" Elaine, with newfound respect for Natalia, hurriedly lay Ellie in Natalia's bed.

Elaine couldn't help Natalia with Jonathan. At the sight of all his blood, and at the sight of his huge gash she shook her head, sat down, and burst into tears.

Natalia cleaned the wound to the best of her ability, and wrapped the wound in gauze. She knew the wound required stitches, and Ellie's probably did too, but she couldn't bring herself to run a needle through human flesh. She shook at the thought and helped Elaine stumble to her room.

Once everything was said and done, Natalia left the ship, limping on her own wound, determined to finish what she'd started.

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

The sea king stirred at the sound of footsteps on the diving board. He awaited the arrival of that wretched woman, but the redheaded girl above him radiated only kindness and worry. Even so, the sea king made special care not to trust her. "Hey." The girl said. "My name is Natalia, I don't know how well you can understand humans, but I'm going to set you free."

The sea king perked. He'd understood only one word she'd said, and that was all he needed to hear. 'Free.'

"The sea is just beyond this tent, and I'm going to rip it. Could you jump out of that tank and into the ocean?" Natalia asked.

Once again, all the sea king heard was 'sea.'

Natalia sighed, but picked up a discarded katana anyways and jumped from the diving board, digging the blade into the tent and ripping it all the way down. She pulled it sideways, widening the hole, then did the same to the other side.

As soon as the sea king saw water, it leapt thoughtlessly, out of the tank, over Natalia's head and headfirst into nothing but pure saltwater. Natalia shook off the water and coughed out what had gotten in her mouth somehow.

The silence of the empty tent was broken by a one-person applaud, and a childish giggle. Natalia scanned the stands, the ceiling, and all around her but no one was there. A bit worried by this, she held on to the sword and limped back to the Pride.

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

Jonathan awakened in the medical room with no shirt on. This alarmed him until he realized both that he never slept with a shirt in the first place and that he'd pulled it off to stifle the blood flow. When he sat up to get a good look at the gash, he got a first aid kit to the head. Again.

"Ow! What the hell, I'm injured!"

"You're about to get a hell of a lot worse if you don't stop moving while I'm trying to stitch you up in such a sensitive area." Ellie said.

"…Stitch…?" Jonathan repeated. "Y-you mean…. your needle is… in… my stomach….?"

"Yeah. Stop speaking." Ellie ordered.

Jonathan made a face as he realized he couldn't feel anything… anywhere.

"Why am I so-"

"Shut it before I knock you out the hard way." Ellie commanded slamming her palm into his face. "I gave you anesthesia because I didn't want you waking up in the middle of surgery." She said, shooting him and accusing stare.

Jonathan was about to say, 'it's not my fault!' and 'good doctors aren't violent!' but he decided he didn't want anymore injuries for the time being.

"Where's Natalia?" He asked, thoughtlessly.

"Dunno." Ellie replied.

"Is she okay? What about Silhouette? Elaine? They're all fine?" Jonathan shoved a rag in his mouth. "They're fine. Silhouette fainted, Elaine cried herself to sleep and I suppose Natalia's okay 'cause injured people don't tend to walk too far."

Jonathan mumbled something inaudible that was either, 'that's good' or 'you witch.'

Ellie ignored him and continued her stitches, thinking of her own. Jonathan took his free arm and pulled the rag out. "What about you?" He rasped.

Ellie looked up sharply, not angry, but purely shocked. "Huh?"

"Did you get hurt, too?" Jonathan asked. "I got worried when I stopped seeing arrows flying."

Ellie's eyes clouded with tears, but she shook them away. Doctors don't cry during surgery. Neither do they let their patients talk up a storm.

"I'm fine." Ellie replied, lying. "Just a scratch."

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

When Natalia got back aboard the Pride, her heart leapt when she realized Ellie wasn't there. She'd peeked in the captain's quarters but only saw her bloodstained sheets. She ran back to Silhouette's room, and Elaine's room, but both girls were still asleep. She went to the doctor's office and opened it to see Ellie sit up, wipe her brow and announce, "I'm done!"

Jonathan sat up immediately, poking at his new stitches. Ellie swatted his hand away. "Jonathan, I swear, if you pick at these too much and they fall out I'll have your head!"

Jonathan gulped and nodded, then looked to Natalia, who smiled. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine." Jonathan asked.

"Ellie? How about you?" She asked. "Did you need any help with the…?"

"No." Ellie replied immediately. "I'm fine."

Natalia nodded. "May I see?" She asked, her tone so laced with worry even the meanest of people couldn't refuse her.

Ellie walked out into the sunlight, Jonathan on her heels. Hiding her eyes, she revealed the neatly stitched and cleaned wound. The daggers left four marks, one in the center, and three around it, like a flower with three petals. Jonathan gawked, and Natalia smiled weakly, "And how do you feel?"

"Much better. Now get in that room and let me take a look at that leg, your pant leg is soaked with blood." Ellie replied, pointing to her office.

"Oh hey… I forgot all about that." Natalia replied, limping to Ellie's office. She'd thought the gash would be too painful to forget, but she'd pushed it to the back of her head when she'd realized Ellie was missing. Natalia smiled and rolled her eyes, following the doctor back to her medical room.

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

Jonathan sat outside the room, looking up at the stars and hearing occasional cries of, "Ah!" or "Dammit!" from Natalia. He closed his eyes for a few minutes, only to have them snap open when he heard Natalia's full blown scream.

A light mist had settled, shrouding most things from view. One image that still came through clearly was a silhouette that had appeared on the sail, sitting oddly. It didn't move, even once it'd noticed Jonathan's gaze. Another cry from Natalia made him look away, and when he looked back, it was gone.

Jonathan didn't want to disrupt the surgery, or any of his sleeping nakama, so for now, he ignored it. He finally fell asleep, trying his best not to think about the agonized sounds Natalia was making from inside.

oo~~O~~oo~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~oo~~O~~oo

1: Sango Ansho: Coral Reef  
2: Omu Island: Parrot Island  
3: Hoshi Beruto: Star Belt.  
4: Anyone notice the ring leader's speech? Yeah... that's part of Saliva's song, 'Ladies and Gentlemen.' XD ten points to anyone who caught that before they read this. XD I couldn't help but add it in, sorry XD  
5: Elaine and Jonathan are not a couple. She was hiding her eyes. That is all.  
6: "Attacking from behind is disgraceful." Natalia quoted Zoro!  
7: Kaze Kaze no Soyokaze: A gust of wind used to generate artificial winds and to blow out torches. (Wind Wind Breeze)  
8: Hari Hari no Ya: Ellie fires an arrow that, once in the oponent, emits a poison through the blood that leaves him paralyzed. (Sting Sting Arrow)  
9: Shokku Shokku no Hoshutsu: Natalia launches a small attack that uses minimal energy but can take out small enemies easily. (Shock Shock Discharge)  
10: Kaisei Kaisei no Naosu: Heals any gash in the metal caused by a sword or axe, or weapon. (Reform Reform Heal)  
11: Kaisei Kaisei no Batto: Forms metal into a baseball bat. (Kaisei Kaisei no Bat)  
12: Kaze Kaze no Bakuhatsu: A large, wide attack often used to knock enemies off their feet or to put wind in the sails. (Wind Wind Burst)  
13: Kaisei Kaisei no Ono: Forms metal into a large, sharp axe. (Reform Reform Axe)  
14: Kaisei Kaisei no Kusari: Forms metal into a long chain, normally used when Elaine is securing something. (Reform Reform Chain)  
15: Hari Hari no Naguru: A strong punch that stings like a bee (Sting Sting Punch) ...or in this case, a weak punch.  
16: Hari Hari no Keru: A strong kick that stings like a bee (Sting Sting Kick) ...or in this case, a toe-touch.  
17: Kaze Kaze no Yari: A sharp, solidified gust of wind that can strike through the heart of an enemy. Once released, it cannot be controlled, and can be caught, but will fade into a breeze before long. (Wind Wind Spear)

:D I liked this chapter! A lot! Most of the other battles were all kind of unorganized and sloppy... so I wanted one really cool fight... like this! It makes me all happy inside. XD So? What'd you think? Please review! I tried my best, but I think I made it a little too easy for them. I'll make sure to make some longer, harder battle scenes later on (mwa ha ha).

Bye! :D


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I'd like to throw it out there that Eiichiro Oda owns One Piece. Most of the characters in this story are original, but the setting is not. The Grand Line... North Blue... East Blue... West Blue... South Blue... All Blue... Skypeia... Luffy... Nami... Zoro... Sanji... All belong to Oda-sensei. As do all those cool characters and inventions I forgot to(was too lazy to) mention.**

~~~~~~~~~~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chapter Seven: The Ghost of the Grand Line

~~~~~~~~~~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Shut up, Jonathan." Natalia said, bitterly. "If you honestly believe in this little… 'ghost' then go do something about it. Go talk to Silhouette or something, I'm _not _in the mood."

Jonathan frowned, but sighed. He turned to Silhouette, who was sitting at a picnic table (…when did they get a picnic table…?) and reading the newspaper. As soon as his mouth opened, Silhouette put up a silencing finger, and she finished reading the article. With a sigh, she finished and folded the paper neatly before looking up to Jonathan. "Okay, what do you need?"

"There was someone here last night. Sitting on the sail. I think they may still be on the ship." Jonathan replied.

Silhouette actually looked interested, instead of the skeptical look he'd been expecting. "A woman?"

He nodded. "You saw her?"

She shook her head and opened up her paper, exposing a the exact same shadow he'd seen last night. Same pose and everything.

"Wh-what's this?" He asked, leaning closer, throwing a look to Natalia. She was still cranky about the damage done to Adeline's Pride. She was cutting the railing to be replaced.

"The Ghost of the Grand Line." Silhouette replied. "Apparently, a ghost that switches ships ever so often and haunts pirate crews. They're saying she's not potentially deadly, she's just… fun-loving. In a bad way."

Jonathan gulped. "Fun-loving?"

Silhouette nodded, "She especially likes to play when people fall asleep on watch duties. She'll cut orange slices and put them in your mouth."

"That's creepy." Jonathan replied.

Silhouette nodded. "She also likes stealing young women's clothes, moving items around and scaring the wits out of guys like you."

"Like me?" Jonathan asked, raising an eyebrow.

Silhouette nodded, loosing interest fast. She unfolded the newspaper. "Guys that sit alone on the deck at night. Some of her favorite places to appear are on top of the cabins, in the crows nest, and on the sail."

Jonathan nodded. "A ghost. A real ghost." Jonathan shook his head and ran a hand through his hair. "The Grand Line really does have everything."

"Don't be stupid." Ellie said, appearing out of nowhere, but apparently having heard the whole story. "Ghosts don't exist- not even on the Grand Line. If it's anything, it's a stow-away."

"What, are stow-aways attracted to this ship, or something?" Natalia grunted, pounding new railing into place with a sledge hammer.

Jonathan blinked. He'd always figured sledge hammers were for destroying things, not fixing them. "Uh, sorry about that. Again." Jonathan said.

Ellie cocked an eyebrow, but didn't say anything. "So what's up with Natalia's foul mood?" she asked, looking at her captain.

"I think she's coming down from her 'new wood' high, and the ship is hardly in the condition to be sailing." Silhouette replied, she looked worriedly to her captain. The girl was sending glares at Ellie, as if to say 'shut up, you haven't _seen _a bad mood yet.' "We only left in case the marines showed up."

"And that was way too soon." Natalia added, replacing some railing. Truthfully, the main reason she was so… upset, was because she hadn't been able to protect all that was precious to her. Not only did her ship get trashed, but so did her friends. And because of her inability to protect them. She put a little wooden rung in place and dabbed some wood glue around it to hold it in place, thus finishing the railing.

The railing was done, but from there Natalia had a support beam she needed to replace, a whole mess of floor repairing. Luckily, it seemed the only ones to have made a mess of the ship were that arachnid woman and the ring leader. She cleaned up after herself this time, instead of having Jonathan sweep. Once she was done, she stepped back and looked at it. It looked like nothing had ever happened, which was good. She stretched, ignoring the cautious stares of her nakama.

The door of the kitchen opened, and everyone turned to look at that instead. Elaine came out with a tray of five lemonades on it. She smiled as she handed one to everyone. She smiled. "It looks great Natalia!"

Natalia gave a tired smile. "Thanks, Elaine."

Elaine only met the other's envious glares with an inquisitive look, as she headed back to the kitchen.

In the kitchen, Elaine was feeling a bit flustered herself. She kept trying to get a solid number on any supply, but she'd count it once, come up short, count it again and everything would be perfect, and she'd count it again just to make sure and she'd be shorter than the first time. Currently, she was trying to count potatoes. When she entered the store room, only a single potato was left.

She was about to scream her frustration, when there was a large, scattered 'thud'. She turned to see all the potatoes on the kitchen table, or around it where they'd fallen off. She turned to look back at the single potato, only to see it was gone. Sure enough, there was an extra 'smack' noise, as that single potato landed on the pile.

Elaine calmly made her way around the pile of potatoes, and went on deck. Ellie, Silhouette and Jonathan were watching Natalia repair a support beam. It'd been slashed to bits, and not repairable, so she was cutting it out to replace it.

Elaine cleared her throat, and everyone but Natalia looked to her. She motioned them over silently.

When the crew peered into the kitchen, it was Ellie who voiced her concern. "Elaine, are you okay? Nothing's wrong in here."

"Exactly." Elaine replied. "That is exactly what is wrong with me."

Jonathan and Silhouette exchanged a look, as Ellie excused herself, then came back with the first aid kit, mumbling something about, 'this heat must be getting to her.'

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

"Okay! Tonight, we'll have a ghost hunt!" Natalia announced, grinning.

The crew had been right in waiting an hour after she'd finished repairs. In about half that time she'd came up to each of them and apologized, explaining why it'd put her in such a horrid mood.

"Why are we waiting?" Jonathan asked. "She's already proved she'll move about in the daylight."

"Duh!" Natalia replied. "Ghost hunts are only fun at night."

"THIS ISN'T SUPPOSED TO BE FUN!" Ellie, Silhouette and Jonathan yelled.

Natalia frowned. "Well…!" She stuck her tongue out when she couldn't think of an understandable reply.

"I think what Natalia means is, maybe we're blowing this a bit out of proportion. We have enough food to support an extra person, it's just Natalia would like to know who's on her ship." Elaine replied.

"Actually," Natalia said, a mischievous gleam in her eyes. "I was thinking you guys are just afraid that Elaine and I will find the ghost before you."

Veins popped out of Ellie, Jonathan and Silhouette's foreheads.

"See?" Natalia replied. "You don't want to make this a game, because you know we'll beat you at it."

Elaine gulped. _Just when did I volunteer to help Natalia?_

"I'm not getting involved." Ellie replied. "I'll be on guard tonight so marines don't attack us while you're being morons, okay?"

Jonathan and Silhouette opened their mouths to protest, but Natalia pointed a finger at them, mischievous smile on her face. "You can't back out. Captain's orders."

Silhouette looked like she honestly wanted to strangle her captain at the moment. Jonathan had took a seat in his corners and was depressed thinking about all the horrid, horrid things a disturbed ghost could do. Natalia was still smirking, acknowledging the fact that she'd won. Elaine sat beside Jonathan, still wondering how in the world she'd gotten herself in this mess.

From a peek hole in the doctors office, the Ghost of the Grand Line smiled deviously. The way she saw it, there were three teams, and there could only be one winner. However, she was always up for a game.

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

Ellie watched the chaos from the crows nest. The night's mist seemed to be setting the atmosphere for the ghost hunt and Natalia had insisted in kicking off the evening with a speech.

"Okay! So, tonight, we're looking for the Ghost of the Grand Line! If and when we catch her, we'll bring her back here-"

"Natalia!" Silhouette and Jonathan yelled.

"We could win too, you know." Silhouette replied.

Natalia scoffed. "Yeah, sure. Whatever floats your boat."

Silhouette glared at her captain, fuming.

"Natalia, play nice." Elaine ordered.

Natalia rolled her eyes and continued. "Fine, fine. When _someone_ finds the Ghost of the Grand Line, Ellie will ring her bell, right Ellie?" Natalia called up to the doctor.

Ellie rang the bell in reply.

Natalia nodded and looked back to the others. "If anyone gets hurt by the ghost or by accident, immediately come back here if it's serious. Ellie will patch you up, then you can decide if you want to continue or not. We'll have to search this whole ship, and by the end of the night, I want her found, okay?"

"'Kay." Jonathan replied.

Silhouette and Elaine only nodded.

"Then let the games be-"

"What do they get if they win?" Ellie asked.

Natalia blinked. "…If they win…?"

"The prize, Natalia, the prize." Ellie replied, sighing at the pure idiocy of her captain.

Natalia cocked her head to the side. "I thought we were just playing for bragging rights."

"How about a chore-trade?" Ellie replied. "The winners don't have to do their chores for…?"

"A month!" Natalia yelled.

Silhouette slapped the back of her captain's head. "Too long. How about two weeks?"

"Fine." Natalia replied, rubbing the back of her head.

"Okay. For two weeks the losers have to do the winners chores, okay?" Ellie replied.

Each team cheered.

"Then let the games begin!" Natalia cheered.

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

Natalia and Elaine made their way down a hallway. They each held huge butterfly nets that came from God-knows where. Natalia also had some rope looped over her arm, and Elaine had her bag with her ten pound iron ball in it. They were well-equipped (in their minds) to catch a ghost.

Elaine was nervous. She'd never really debated with herself rather or not ghosts existed, and now that they may or may not be going up against one, she didn't know how to react. She didn't know rather she should be happy or depressed and terrified that she'd gotten Natalia as a partner. Maybe Jonathan would actually listen to her and calm her.

Natalia was grinning like a maniac. Like Elaine, she'd never decided rather or not ghosts existed, but she was excited for the chance to find out.

As the couple passed the door to the map room, it creaked open.

Elaine jumped and snatched Natalia's shoulders, hiding behind her. "GHOST!" she screamed.

"Sh!" Natalia hissed. "Do you want the others to come find us? They could get to the ghost! Let's investigate."

"I-in-invest-investigate?" Elaine stammered. "N-no thank you. I'll… um… stay out here and make sure Jonathan and Silhouette don't come by! Yeah! That way, they can't steal our ghost!"

Natalia gave Elaine a flat look. A bead of sweat dripped down Elaine's face. "N-no then?"

Natalia grabbed her shoulder and pushed her into the room, followed her in, and shut the door behind them. "There. Now they won't come in. Simple as that."

"B-b-but Natalia!" Elaine whined.

"Sh!" Natalia hissed, flipping the light switch.

Both girls turned to the map room simultaneously, and both screamed at what they saw.

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

"What was that?" Silhouette asked, pausing at the sound of a single scream.

Jonathan's eyes widened. "That was Elaine!"

Silhouette caught the back of his shirt as he tried to run to her. "Not so fast, boy. Natalia's with her. She's fine."

Jonathan pulled Silhouette's hand off. "What if the ghost killed Natalia and that's why Elaine screamed and if we don't go _now _it'll kill Elaine too, huh? What the-"

Silhouette slapped him. "Don't be so negative. And ghosts don't exist."

This time, the screams were from both Natalia and Elaine.

Silhouette looked in that direction, and looked back at Jonathan who was giving her that I-told-you-so look. Silhouette turned her back to him. "If that proves anything, it's that Natalia's alive and there's no need to worry. Now let's go, we need to prove that smug captain of ours wrong."

"And if there's no ghost and this is all just our imagination, how you suggest we prove her wrong?" Jonathan asked.

Silhouette shrugged. "Simple. I'd be a lot more concerned if it turned out it really _was _a ghost. This is a simple matter; catching a stow-away." Silhouette opened the door to Elaine's bedroom and walked inside, halting Jonathan when he tried to follow her. "Stay." She ordered. "The thing is, we know there is something or someone stowing away on our ship. So it rules out the possibility of this just being our imagination."

Jonathan peeked his head into Elaine's room. Silhouette was digging through her closet. "Umm, Silhouette, what are you doing?"

"I'm looking for a clue…" Silhouette replied.

"A clue?" Jonathan replied.

Silhouette nodded, and stood back, looking triumphant. "It's gone."

"Okay, you've lost it." Jonathan said. "I can see this now. I'll go get Ellie."

"Do you want another first aid kit to the head?" Silhouette asked. "Listen, Elaine has this really, really cute white dress, right? With that and some of Natalia's supplies, I'm sure this stow-away could make herself look very, very ghostly. She probably stole some of my makeup too, who knows."

"You wear makeup?" Jonathan asked.

Silhouette hit him over the head.

"What! It's a compliment! I thought you had natural beauty!"

Silhouette hit him again.

Jonathan rubbed his head and looked away, mumbling, "I'll shut up now."

"Good boy." Silhouette replied, walking further back to her own room. "Come. Sit. Stay."

Jonathan mumbled, but obeyed, knowing he'd only be hit if he didn't. With a sigh, he watched as Silhouette rummaged through her drawers looking for her makeup.

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

The maps were floating- floating! And moving! In the middle was a young, transparent woman, wearing a ghostly white dress. Her black hair fell over her face, and her face was a ghostly white, her eyes outlined by dark bags under her eyes. She was hanging from a rope, appearing as if she'd committed suicide.

Natalia hugged herself against the wall, but it was Elaine who recovered first. She walked closer and touched the fabric of the dress, then moved the girl's hair. Then she ran her finger down her face and licked her finger.

"Elaine! What are you doing? That's disgusting!" Natalia cried out.

"This is my dress." The girl replied. "And the hair is the head of a mop, dyed with… I think some lampblack. Her face is powdered with flour, and I think some of Silhouette's eyeliner. Her head is one of my glass bowls."

"Oh." Natalia said, blinking. "Well, don't we have a crafty ghost on our hands?"

"I don't think it's a ghost." Elaine replied. "Ghosts shouldn't be able to touch solid objects, right?"

Natalia blinked. "You know, I just don't know. We have some time, want to go back on deck and ask Ellie?"

"Yeah." Elaine replied. "It may clarify if we're dealing with a ghost or a stow-away."

The two walked confidently out of the room, but the way back to the deck was blocked by a creature shrouded in darkness. It's face was ghostly pale, as was all of it's clothes, and when it looked up, it had unnatural eyes.

Natalia and Elaine were frozen by fear.

The ghost lifted her arms, making them form claws, and said one word that sent the captain and the cook running down the halls, running for their lives.

"Boo!"

The 'ghost' fell to the floor laughing. Her tears washed away some of the flour she'd smeared on her face. With one fluid movement, she jumped up and latched to the rafters of the ceiling, and she ran on all fours after them, not making a single noise.

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

Silhouette and Jonathan were making their way to the library when something plowed them to the ground from behind.

"Ah!" both teams yelled, separating. Silhouette stared straight across at Natalia, and Jonathan to Elaine. "What's gotten into you two!" Silhouette and Jonathan yelled.

Natalia and Elaine hugged each other, pointing behind them. "GHOST!"

Jonathan and Silhouette leaned to each side, looking behind their terrified nakama. When they saw no ghost, they leaned back, giving the two inquisitive looks.

"It w-w-was there. I-I-I-it had a p-p-pale face, a-a-and she…. She…!" Elaine stopped, unable to finish her sentence.

"SHE TRIED TO KILL US!" Natalia screamed.

"What's all this noise about?" Ellie asked, appearing at the front door.

Natalia and Elaine, still hugging each other for dear life, burst into tears.

Ellie shot an inquisitive look to Silhouette and Jonathan who shrugged, standing up and dusting themselves off. "Unless you two want to call this off, we're going back to looking, okay?" Silhouette asked.

Natalia stood, tears and snot dripping down her face, but still managing (somehow) to look brave and determined. "No. W-we're going to find the ghost. And we're going to prove it's a ghost. And you're doing my chores for the next two weeks!"

"In your dreams, _sencho-san_." Silhouette said, mockingly. "We'll find the _stow-away _and _you'll_ be doing _our_ chores."

"Okay gir-" Jonathan started, cut off by childish, mocking giggles.

Natalia stiffened. "I… I know that laugh…"

The crew gave her weird looks.

"When I went to release that sea king…" Natalia started, "I heard this laugh. And applause."

"Maybe that's where the stow-away got on!" Silhouette said, slamming her fist into her open palm.

Jonathan nodded his agreement, but Natalia shook her head and pointed at Silhouette. "This is all your fault!"

"WHAT?" Jonathan and Silhouette yelped, shocked by the sudden accusation.

"Because! You stole those artifacts from that deserted Indian _graveyard _and now their ghosts are haunting us!" Natalia claimed.

Ellie blinked, turned, and left to go back to the crows nest. Sometimes, these people were just too stupid for their own good.

"That's completely ridiculous, Natalia." Silhouette said.

"No." Natalia said, refusing to listen to reason. "I'm right! Aren't I, Elaine?"

"Natalia, that ghost didn't look anything like I'd picture an Indian to look like." Elaine replied. "It looked more like… a pirate."

That childish, creepy giggle echoed through the halls again.

"And, I'm kind of starting to think this game is a little too… dangerous for my tastes. I-I'm going to go to bed." Elaine said, leaving.

"Elaine…!" Natalia said, afraid she'd scared her cook.

Elaine just shook her head, found her bedroom, opened the door, and stood there, staring. The rest of the crew watched her, waiting for a scream, or her to enter, or something.

Elaine simply bent down, picked something up, and stared at it. She sighed and showed it to the crew who only cocked their heads to the sides.

"A potato?" Natalia finally asked.

Elaine dropped the potato, and shut herself in her room for the rest of the night.

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

Ellie climbed slowly up to the crows nest, tired already. There had been a minimal to the screaming since she'd left, and she finally decided to return to her lookout duties. It was this false sense of security that made it all the worse to see the sight she beheld.

She didn't see the full picture at first- all she saw was lavender colored hair spread across the crows nest. Ellie stepped closer and got a good look at the face attached. Her cheeks were red, her lips were gaping just barely enough to let her ragged breaths in and out. Ellie dropped to her knees before the girl and rolled her on her back, placing a hand on her forehead.

The fever wasn't a good sign.

Ellie looked desperately down at the deck. The way she saw it, she had a few options.

One, throw the girl down to the deck and pray to God it didn't kill her.

Two, carry her down the ladder and hope she wouldn't fall.

Three, get Jonathan to perform number two and kill him if he killed the patient.

Four, leave to get her medical supplies and blankets for the patient.

Four seemed to be her best bet, but leaving a patient in such a critical condition was not a good idea.

A new idea occurred to her.

"NATALIA!" Ellie screamed.

The patients violet eyes fluttered open, then widened. Ellie dived on top of her as the girl began thrashing wildly, probably afraid the doctor would get her into trouble.

Actually, Ellie planned to treat the girl, then once she made a full recovery, throw her to the sharks (i.e. Natalia and Silhouette).

Natalia appeared on deck rushed. "Ellie?"

Ellie was too busy trying to calm the poor girl down to reply.

Natalia took this as a, 'Ahh! The Ghost of the Grand Line killed me!' and started climbing the rope ladder up to the crows nest.

Luckily, the 'ghost hunter' was still armed with her net and rope.

"Natalia!" Ellie cried. "Secure her arms! Her legs! If she gets away she could die!"

"What?" Natalia cried out, immediately unraveling the rope, "What's she have?"

"High fever." Ellie took the girl's pulse and forced her mouth open. "Her pulse is rapid- but that may be because of all this squirming- and her tonsils are swollen."

"That doesn't tell me anything." Natalia said, tying her hands. She moved lower and tied her feet.

"Stop!" The girl scream-croaked. She then coughed, having hurt her throat.

Ellie flicked her forehead. "Shut up. You'll only hurt yourself worse. I'm going to treat you so just _calm down _so I won't have to keep you tied the whole time."

The girl calmed, obviously shocked.

"Natalia! I'll watch the girl, go get my medical supplies and a lot of blankets, okay?" Ellie demanded.

Natalia nodded and disappeared, instead of taking the ladder rung by rung, she simply slid down and ran off to get spare blankets and Ellie's deadly first aid kit.

Meanwhile, Ellie started to diagnose the girl, looking at all her symptoms. "Does your head hurt?"

The girl nodded.

Ellie rolled the skin-tight black sleeves the girl was wearing up, and saw a large rash. It was red, rough, and when Ellie pressed down on it, it whitened. She sighed, and realized that this was a huge problem. Scarlet Fever.

Natalia came back, and together, the doctor and the captain made a makeshift bed and cut the girl's ropes, laying her on the blankets. Ellie wrapped the rash in gauze so the girl wouldn't disturb it, and immediately started treating her.

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

"You found the ghost?" Jonathan and Elaine cried out. The two had retired early, so they hadn't been informed about the 'ghost' now referred to as 'Ellie's patient.'

"Yep!" Natalia said.

Silhouette hit her over the head. "Ellie found her."

"I helped _catch _her though." Natalia pointed out. "Which means I won."

"Which means you're full of crap, you mean." Silhouette replied.

Natalia was about to start with some not-so-witty reply when Ellie entered the kitchen, dark circles under her eyes. The doctor yawned, and dragged to the counter to refill an empty coffee mug.

"Uh, Ellie…?" Jonathan said. He had a feeling the doctor looked more like a ghost than the Ghost of the Grand Line might.

"Hm?" Ellie said, looking away for a minute and spilling coffee on the counter. She looked back to the spilled coffee and muttered a curse without near as much energy as she normally would have.

"Okay, I may not be a doctor, but it doesn't take much to figure out that you need some sleep, _bad."_ Silhouette said. "If you go take a nap, we can watch after the ghost."

"Mika." Ellie corrected. "Her name is Mika. And I can't. She could go back to being critical any minute now, I don't even have time to be in here." As if to prove her point, the doctor started dragging back to the door.

"And what good will it do if she does and the doctor doesn't have enough energy to fix her?" Silhouette replied. "Let me watch Mika, just tell me what to look out for."

Ellie nodded and took Silhouette back to the infirmary to point out signs that should alert her to any critical changes. Ellie finally hit her bed with a tired grunt, curled up, and passed out.

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

Three days later, it seemed Mika had fallen into a coma, due to the severity of her illness. It was shocking that in such a condition she'd been able to pull off the whole ghost hunting fiasco.

Jonathan and Elaine were inwardly pouting. They claimed that since Ellie and Silhouette got to see the patient they should be able to, too. And with the real live 'Pirate Spy, Mika Aida' being on their ship, they wanted to meet her, dammit! Silhouette was actually the one who pointed out the wanted poster for the second time and the fact that the girl had claimed her name was Mika. Putting two and two together, Natalia made the _brilliant _observation that Mika must be Mika Aida. Due to her announcement, she got a first aid kit and a fist to the back of her head.

And it was this fact that a bounty head of twenty-five million belli was on their ship that excited the chef and the swordsman. Many times they'd tried to peek their heads in, but if Ellie wasn't guarding the patient, Silhouette was. And if neither were, their air-headed captain pointed them out.

It was on this third day that they caught their first glimpse of the girl, and that glimpse alone almost made the two faint from shock.

The tell-tale flash of lavender alerted Ellie from her reading, and before they knew it, Mika Aida was running across the deck, from an incredibly angry looking Silhouette.

"Get back here, you little pest!" Silhouette yelled, finally grasping the back of her collar and pulling her to the ground.

Mika held her head, whimpering.

At the first glance, she looked completely normal. Then, they saw the purple dog ears on top of her head, and the purple tail sticking off her backside.

Jonathan and Elaine let out a little squeak, and the girl's violet eyes flashed towards them. In an instant, the girl disappeared, and was clinging to Jonathan's back, piggyback style. "Don't kill me, Silhouette!" Mika cried.

"Why aren't you in the infirmary?" Ellie yelled, "If your fever comes back because you overexerted yourself…!"

"Gomen nasai, Ellie!" Mika whined, coming out more dog-like than human. "It's just so boring in there…"

"We know." The doctor and the first mate droned.

"It's all you've been talking about since you woke up." Natalia added.

"C-c-c-c-c-can you g-g-g-g-get off my back?" Jonathan asked, stiff as a board. He'd never even _seen _anyone with a twenty-five million belli bounty, and having one cling to him desperately didn't seem very… comfortable.

"Aww… why, onii-chan?" Mika said.

Now he could really understand how someone you'd expect to be so mature could make such a childish giggle. Mika Aida was no more than a little girl! Even if she did appear sixteen.

"Back to the infirmary. Now." Ellie said, softening a little. "Maybe if you ask nicely, Elaine will make you a nice lunch once you tell us a little about yourself."

Mika perked a little, looking to Elaine. "Would you? Really?"

Elaine laughed, "Sure, Mika-chan."

"Yay!"

"Now get off our swordsman." Silhouette said. "You haven't even answered the most basic of our questions!"

"Maybe, if I may suggest something, Mika's a bit too energetic to be held up in one room in the moment. Maybe if you let her stay on deck for a while, she'll be a little less reluctant to answer your questions." Elaine suggested.

Silhouette and Ellie exchanged a look and sighed.

Ellie scratched the back of her head. "I suppose a little sunshine might be good for you… But I'm warning you; don't overdo it."

Mika's grip tightened on Jonathan, as she nodded.

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

A little under an hour, and the whole crew was outside, basking in the sunshine and trying to pry answers from an increasingly stubborn Mika.

"So, Mika, where are you from?" Natalia asked.

Mika shrugged.

"How old are you?" Ellie tried.

Mika shrugged.

"Do you know anything?" Silhouette asked.

Mika gave a Cheshire cat grin as she shook her head 'no.'

Elaine held Silhouette in her chair as she tried to lunge at the girl for the fifth or maybe sixth time.

Mika seemed to be reluctant to give anyone any type of information on herself.

"What kind of things do you like?" Jonathan asked.

Mika shrugged.

"What kind of things do you dislike?" Elaine tried.

Mika shrugged.

"Do you have any kind of medical past?" Ellie asked.

This time the girl cocked her head to the side, confused.

"Have you been sick like that before?" Silhouette explained, sensing a breakthrough.

Mika shook her head no. "Thank you for fixing me, Ellie-chan!"

"You're really fast to give out affection, aren't you, Mika?" Elaine asked, a bit worried for her new friend. "You know, you can't automatically trust everyone."

Mika's face dropped, all innocence draining away. She lowered her head, letting her hair shadow her eyes. "I'm feeling kind of tired, Ellie-chan. Can I go back to sleep now?"

Ellie nodded, surprised at the sudden change in the girl. Nonetheless, she lead her back to the infirmary and put her to sleep.

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

"She must have a dark past." Elaine concluded. "Did you see her face? I know that look. Someone betrayed her."

"How do you betray someone like that?" Jonathan asked. "Everything about her is all innocence! The sick bastard who did that-"

"I think this is one of the dangers of that girl." Natalia said. For the longest time, Natalia had been uncharacteristically quiet.

"What?" Ellie answered. Needless to say, everyone around the kitchen table was shocked.

Natalia looked up, her eyes saying she believed what she was saying with her whole heart. "I'm not saying Mika's a bad person, I'm saying she draws you in with her innocence, then you find yourself throwing your life away for her, without really thinking about it. You see how innocent… how fragile she seems, then you rush to fight her battles, thinking, 'how could I live with myself if I watched these criminals crush something that pure?' It corrupts your mind frame, and brings you to her mercy."

"You have a point." Silhouette agreed.

Elaine's brow furrowed. "I don't think Mika-chan's a bad person."

Natalia shrugged. "Either way, I think this girl draws trouble like a moth to a flame. I'm not staying she can't stay, but I think once she heals, we shouldn't stand in her way."

Gravely, everyone nodded their agreement.

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

Mika closed her eyes, and turned away. She'd come back to the kitchen to see if she could take Elaine up on that meal, and heard every single word. She'd known it was too good to be true.

Tears falling down her face, and snot beginning to drip as well, the half-wolf sped back to the infirmary, jumping into the bed and crying into the pillows.

oo~~O~~oo~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~oo~~O~~oo

Thanks for reading!

Mika has the Inu Inu no Mi, a Zoan type, Model Wolf.

Well, I'm drawing a blank on comments, so I'll just remind you politely to review... :D

Ja ne, adios, ciao, sayonara and bye!


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I'd like to throw it out there that Eiichiro Oda owns One Piece. Most of the characters in this story are original, but the setting is not. The Grand Line... North Blue... East Blue... West Blue... South Blue... All Blue... Skypeia... Luffy... Nami... Zoro... Sanji... All belong to Oda-sensei. As do all those cool characters and inventions I forgot to(was too lazy to) mention.**

~~~~~~~~~~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chapter Eight: Five Minutes to Run

~~~~~~~~~~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The waves crashed against the Pride, and Jonathan ran to the side of a poor, helpless girl. He'd never seen her before, and he didn't know why she was on this ship, but the waves had almost knocked her off the side. Another wave and she would be in the sea.

Another wave- a huge wave- came and swept over the deck, knocking Jonathan off his feet and his mysterious girl into the Grand Line. Jonathan, faced with no other option (at least, that was how he saw it), jumped in after her.

The water that was so wild above, seemed silent below. It was cold, though, so the minute he fell in it seemed like impending doom was upon him.

Jonathan found the girl, but released his breath at the sight. Her wavy blond hair was floating about her wildly, her dark green dress billowed around her… Then her emerald eyes opened, and her pale hand reached out to him.

He shook the thoughts of, 'she must be an angel' and grabbed her hand, pulling her close and swimming them both to the surface. After moments of being battered and tossed by the storm, they were back on the Pride, both exhausted.

Jonathan lay on his back, and drifted to sleep with the warm feel of the girl curled against him…

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

A loud crash of thunder and a squeezing at his chest woke him up. The warmth from his dream hadn't left his side, and as he examined it now, he saw a lavender head of hair, pressing into his side, and Mika's weak whimpers.

"M-Mika?" Jonathan asked, raising his hands so he wasn't touching the girl.

She looked up to expose the tears raining across her cheeks. Her violet eyes flashed with fear at the next clash of thunder and she hugged Jonathan tighter, as if gripping him for dear life.

"Mika why are you in my bed?" Jonathan asked. "Are you afraid of thunder, or something?"

Mika nodded into his chest, and suddenly he felt like he'd been scolding a child for asking him to check under their bed for monsters. He let out a sigh, and a murmur of, "Why couldn't you go to Ellie or Silhouette?" Before hugging her close.

Mika hadn't expected that reaction.

This wasn't the first storm she'd been in, and it wasn't the first time she'd looked for a pirate's comfort. Each time, however, she'd been kicked off the bed and forced to go to plan B- hiding in the storage closet until the storm passed.

Only one person in her whole memory of pirates had ever hugged her close when she needed comfort…

That man…

Another clash of thunder made her yelp and bury her face in Jonathan's side again. In the halls, there was a rush of footsteps, and Jonathan's door flew open, "Jonathan, all hands on- why is Mika in here?" Ellie asked. "Isn't she supposed to be in the infirmary?" A dangerous look crossed her face at this last question.

"She's afraid of-" thunder crashed- "-I just woke up and she was in here."

"She's afraid of thunder?" Ellie shrieked. She looked like she wanted to add something, but she didn't. "Well... we can handle this ourselves, I guess. Just look after Mika."

Jonathan nodded, and another crash of thunder made her hug Jonathan tighter. He sighed and hugged her close, sensing this was going to be a long, long night.

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

Silhouette, Ellie, Natalia and Elaine were extremely relieved when the storm passed. Turns out, Ellie's biggest mistake this week had been telling Jonathan he could stay in his room to comfort Mika, but that was hardly something she could scold him for.

Almost as soon as the storm had passed, they still couldn't get a break. Silhouette immediately spotted the island and started shouting orders to get ready to land. It was about that time, that Mika, sitting piggyback on Jonathan's shoulders, appeared.

"Morning, sleeping beauties." Natalia said, sending them a chilling glare.

Mika lowered herself a little so she was hiding behind Jonathan.

"Mika, how are you feeling?" Ellie asked, preparing the anchor.

Mika smiled a little and said, "Good."

"Good." Ellie said, beginning to ignore them.

"So, there's supposed to be treasure on this island?" Jonathan asked.

"Yep!" Silhouette and Mika replied.

The whole crew looked to Mika, who just sat there, smiling normally.

"How did you know about the treasure?" Silhouette asked.

Mika grinned, "It's called the map-less treasure of the something-or-other-peoples. A lot of pirates went there to recover it, but since there was no map, and the map points to the only safe way through the island-"

"Wait, what?" Natalia asked, "The only _safe _way?"

Mika nodded. "There are all kinds of traps and things all around this island. It's the main reason why its uninhabited. The other reasons are because of the insane wildlife, but if you step even a little off the trail, you may become lunch, or a human kabob."

Everyone's jaw dropped.

"Oh, and the Indians made it incredibly hard to read the map, so, if you take a wrong turn…" Mika added, slashing her own throat with a finger to symbolize… not good things.

Silhouette gapped.

Elaine shivered.

Natalia's eyes got wider and wider.

Jonathan almost dropped Mika.

Ellie remained completely calm when she looked back to her friends. "You mean, you wanted to go after this treasure without even knowing the least bit about it?"

The whole crew's glares fixated themselves on Ellie.

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

"I can't believe we're still doing this." Silhouette said, stepping very lightly on the trail and scanning the woods constantly for rabid animals.

"Well, you're the one who wanted the treasure as soon as you found that map on the last island." Ellie replied.

Silhouette sighed, avoiding a rock that struck her as 'suspicious.' "Well, originally I'd been hoping to ask some of the circus acts if they'd heard anything about it but that was before we got kicked off the island." Silhouette shot her captain a glare.

"Don't you glare at me, you know they were wrong in keeping that!" Natalia said, pouting.

Silhouette sighed. "You're right, you're right, of course. But maybe leaving Mika to guard the ship was a bad idea-"

There was a large thud in front of them and rows of large iron spikes blocked their patch. Silhouette- who had been incredibly close to stepping on one-'s left eye twitched.

"You were about to spring a trap." Mika's disembodied voice said, answering the unspoken question of 'what the hell just happened?'

The group went around the spikes, to see Mika, purple dog ears poking out of her head and a tail wagging behind her. She was licking her hand and smoothing the hair… fur… stuff on her ears down.

"First off; what the hell are you?" Ellie shrieked.

Mika perked. "Half-wolf. I ate the Inu Inu no Mi. Something about model wolf… zoan type… I tuned the guy out at that part, he had a really boring voice." Mika grinned.

"Now, are you a cat or a wolf? Stop doing that." Ellie said. "Besides, you're getting spit in your hair, it's nasty."

Mika stuck her tongue out, stood and rocketed herself into the canopy above them, disappearing.

"What the…?" Natalia cried.

Mika's head popped out from where it'd gone in. "I'll scout ahead and warn you against any traps, 'kay?"

Bewildered, the crew only nodded once.

Silhouette seemed to be the first to recover. "Elaine, would you go back to the ship and make sure no one steals the ship? Honestly, that girl doesn't think."

Elaine nodded, walking back around the huge spiked area.

Before they continued, there was a loud snapping noise and several large blades swung free of the trees, swinging like pendulums and blocking the way again.

Jonathan sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "She's both useful and bothersome. Annoying yet knowledgeable, innocent and deadly. I can't get a grip on her personality."

"She's a rollercoaster." Natalia replied. "Just when you think she'll calm down, she's running around doing God-knows what."

"You don't like her much, do you, Natalia?" Ellie asked.

Natalia shrugged. "It's not her so much that bothers me. It's that someone like that can get a bounty as big as twenty-five million belli."

Silhouette nodded. "It's troublesome, but I don't think she's too much of a threat. She means no harm."

"That's what scares me." Natalia said, silently going ahead.

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

Mika frowned. She'd been trying so hard to change their opinion of her, too. She wanted them to see that if she ever drew attention to their crew, or caused trouble, it was something she could and would handle herself. However, with Natalia so set against her, she doubted this could be 'the crew'.

She sighed and continued dismantling traps and revealing them. If this was all she could do, she'd do it. Ignoring the tears now openly flowing down her face, she ran forward, keeping a sharp lookout for traps.

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

"The map says to take a right." Silhouette said.

"You mean basically, or that's really what it says this time?" Ellie asked. No matter what, it seemed the map just couldn't give a straight direction. Rather it was a riddle, a vague description, or some odd wording, it was surprising Silhouette was able to decode this at all.

"Do you think Mika's alright up ahead by herself?" Jonathan asked.

"She'll be fine." Natalia said.

It was easy to tell that Natalia hated being so judgmental of the wolf girl, but it she believed fully that taking her in would spell doom for their crew. And Natalia wasn't just thinking of her own dream being shattered, she was thinking of her nakama's lives. Something about the name 'Mika Aida' just spelt trouble to her. Even though the wolf had saved their lives with every trap she dismantled or revealed, it just wasn't enough. Natalia followed along as soon as her crew decided a right was an okay idea.

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

Elaine was sweeping the deck when she first heard the noise of another ship pulling into the small cove. She placed their new broom against the wall and peeked around the corner. The ship didn't have a pirate's Jolly Roger, or the marines white flag with a blue seagull.

Elaine sighed with relief. Probably just a bunch of fisherman in over their heads. She turned and went back to her sweeping when she heard a whistle. "Hey, hey, this is a pirate ship, right?" a man asked.

Elaine leaned over the railing and got a good look at the man who'd called. He looked dirty, with matted brown hair and a few tattoos around his left arm.

Elaine nodded, wondering what made him so comfortable around pirates.

"Where's the rest of your crew?" He asked.

Elaine pointed to the jungle, suddenly feeling like a child being offered candy by a stranger.

"Can't talk?" He asked, laughing. "Don't worry, we're not here for your bounty, Blacksmith." He grinned as he recited her bounty name. "We're tailing this girl, met her?" He held up Mika Aida's bounty poster. "She's been reported in this area, and we think she may be stowing away with you."

"Oh? No, I've read some articles on her and none of our supplies have been short. In fact, we're in pretty good shape." Elaine grinned, hoping her lies weren't too obvious. She wasn't so good at lying.

"Would you mind if I searched your ship?" The man asked.

Elaine unbuttoned her bag and got a grip on her iron ball, just to be safe. "I don't know if my captain would-"

"Your captain doesn't even have to know." The man replied. "Like I said, we don't care about your crew. We're after Aida."

Elaine's brow furrowed. How much evidence was there that Mika was here? Close to none, actually, unless the crew got back before the bounty hunters were done. "Um… fine then." Elaine said.

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

Mika was now in full wolf form, sniffing the trail ahead of the crew. When the wind shifted and started coming from the cove the Pride was docked at, Mika froze and started sniffing the air from that direction.

"Is something wrong?" Silhouette asked.

Mika shifted forms and brushed her lavender hair out of her eyes. "I've got to go back to the ship. The way to the treasure should be clear- no more traps. You can handle the wild animals. Bye." With that said, the wolf burst through the brush on the left side of the path and ran straight to the ship.

"What's up with her?" Natalia asked.

Ellie shrugged. "Come on, we've got a straight path to the treasure now."

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

Elaine was tied to the mast, her bag hung only about a foot away from her face. She'd been gagged and bound with the bounty hunters hidden all around her. She had no idea how they'd figured out Mika was on the ship, but they had, and now not only was the wolf girl in trouble, but so was the whole crew.

It'd been about an hour since she'd stopped crying about all this, and now she was struggling to free herself. The bastards were cocky in tying her up. The knot was just over her stomach, but she couldn't undo it if she tried. Knowing this, she still insisted upon struggling, which earned her rope burns and nasty, bloody wounds.

She stopped struggling when something was thrown onboard. A medium sized stone with a scribbled message.

'Five minutes to run.'

For the longest time, nothing changed. Elaine resumed her struggling, thinking whatever it was, it was probably just a prank by some bounty hunter chore boy. Five minutes passed, and no one ran.

A purple flash flew out of the woods, and a purple wolf stood right over the stone, fur on end, teeth bared, growling like there was no tomorrow.

Elaine knew a rabid wolf when she saw one, having grown up around them, and she knew tied to the mast like she was, she was doomed.

The wolf stopped growling and walked up to Elaine, then started to gnaw on the ropes.

"The wolf is trained!" A bounty hunter yelled. "Aida's too cowardly to show her mug around here, I guess, don't let it chew the ropes!"

Three bounty hunters with rather large swords dropped down from the crows nest and at the same time, slammed their swords at the wolf. Mika erupted from the creature in record time, pushing the swords away from herself and Elaine with her left hand. Her right hand and leg steadied herself, as her left leg came up and kicked the nearest man in the head. Elaine, unfortunately, barely caught this motion. Somehow, this wolf had incredible speed and was on the middle man's back in the duration of Elaine's blink. In no time, she slammed his head into the man to the far side and stole his sword, using it to cut the ropes and free Elaine.

The first man recovered from the kick and grabbed at the half wolf as his comrades poured out of their hiding spots. Mika finished the first man off by grabbing his left shoulder, swinging herself around his right, landing on his back and forcing his face into the floorboards. She then proceeded to smile innocently as the others gaped at her.

"Hiya." She greeted childishly.

"M-Mika Aida!" A man yelled.

The leading bounty hunter, the scrawny man that had tricked his way aboard and tied Elaine up, stepped forward. "Listen, Aida, we may be no match for you, but we're more than enough of a match for those pirates in there. We've already got men heading that way."

"No you don't." Mika replied. "I'm part wolf, if you had sent men in there, I would've smelt them and dealt with them then. You're waiting for the pirates to come out and then you'll capture them, regardless of whatever deal I strike up with you now."

The man looked at her surprised. "N-no!"

"Yes." Mika replied, stretching her right arm across her chest, then repeating the action with her left. "So, do you still want to take me up on that five minute offer?" She bent backwards, stretching her back.

Several men left at the sound of a chance, but the leader and several others stayed. "You're bluffing. You don't even have a sword, and even if you did, you couldn't use it! I'm not afraid, and neither are they. Take her out, men!"

The men poured forward, and Mika sighed, then caught and climbed up the rope ladder. She dived off and landed on one man's shoulders, taking him out. She then kicked the feet out from under the men around her, and immediately they were trampled by their own comrades. She did a back flip, landing expertly on the man behind her. As he clawed at her back, she took out several men beside him as easily as if she were playing pool chicken*, then, she kicked him in the spine, sending him into the ground face first. She jumped off him and used people as stepping stones to get back to Elaine, who was being held by the leader, with a dagger to her throat.

"Come with us, or we'll kill her." The bounty hunter said, calmly, aware of just how many people this girl had just killed without a weapon.

Mika rolled her eyes and pouted. "You guys take these games too seriously."

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

With bags of gold hanging from their backs, Ellie, Silhouette, Natalia and Jonathan returned with the biggest smiles. It wasn't until they saw Elaine dumping dead bodies off the Pride, tears in her eyes, that their smiles disappeared.

"What happened?" Silhouette asked.

"Where's Mika?" Jonathan asked, "Didn't she come this way?"

"Bounty hunters." Elaine replied.

"How many?" Natalia asked, amazed. She counted the bodies and came up with twenty-five.

"I don't know, maybe a little under a hundred." Elaine replied. "Mika came and tried to save me, but they were really after her. She fought all these guys, but they threatened my life and she went with them so they wouldn't kill me. She's still with them now."

"Where's their boat?" Natalia ordered. "We've got to save her."

"They left." Elaine replied. "They're already out of the horizon. It's too late."

Natalia hung her head.

Ellie punched the railing. "Doesn't she know her fever could return?"

Jonathan only shook his head, slumping against the wall. Silhouette covered her mouth, tears welling up in her eyes.

"Sheesh, you guys are so dismal. Are you the types that cry over spilled milk?" A disembodied voice asked. They turned to see Mika, covered head to toe in blood and dirt. She gave a huge grin. "It's not that easy to catch me. Don't worry."

Ellie jumped over the railing and landed next to Mika.

Mika smiled, as if she were about to receive a 'welcome back' hug, or something nice and kind.

Instead, she got a first aid kit that sent her flying into the Pride's side. "BAKA! Don't you know exerting yourself could've made you go critical again? And I wasn't around! You could've died! Baka, baka, baka!" Finally the tears she'd been holding back fell, "I'm glad you're alive, idiot."

Mika grinned, ignoring the huge bump forming on her head.

"Hey. Mika." Natalia said, rather flatly. "You fought those guys to save Elaine, right?"

Mika's grin faded, and she nodded.

Natalia grinned. "Thanks."

Mika grinned back.

"But!" Natalia yelled, signaling that Mika shouldn't be so happy just yet. "If you think you can just run around like you're part of our crew when you're not, you've got another thing coming."

Mika's eyes widened a bit.

"Join our crew." Natalia ordered. "Or else I won't let you ride to the next island."

"Natalia…?" Silhouette asked, looking as if Natalia had just arrived via UFO.

"Nope." Natalia replied. "I won't be swayed. I've decided."

Mika tapped her chin thoughtfully, standing up. "Well, how about a game?"

"A game?" Natalia said, lost.

Mika nodded. "Hide and seek. I'll hide in the jungle somewhere, and you have to find me. There will be two rounds and a tie breaker if needed. You find me first, then I find you. If I win, I'm free to do whatever I want, rather I want to leave or stay for three whole islands. If you win, I'll join your crew."

Natalia nodded slowly, "Sounds reasonable."

Mika grinned. "Then here are the rules. One; no violence. Any use of violence won't end the game, but it will promote me to use violence back. Two; Devil's Fruit powers are allowed. Three; you can have one teammate help you, but only one. Breaking rules two and three will end the game. If you break a rule, I win both rounds. If I break a rule, you win both rounds. Understood?"

Natalia jumped over the side of the ship and landed in front of Mika. The two shook hands and shot each other looks that would make the goose bumps rise on any normal human.

Mika grinned like the devil, and replied, "Then let the games begin."

oo~~O~~oo~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~oo~~O~~oo

Thanks for reading! I'd like to state that Mika's Devil Fruit (because I want it to be) is different from others. She can be full human, full wolf, or a human with wolf ears, tail, teeth and claws. Probably something about how old she was when she ate the fruit or what color she was wearing, I don't know. XD

And apparently, Natalia has mood swings. I guess Mika just proved herself to the captain or whatever, but Mika's quite mysterious. All those thoughts of hers confusing you? If so, review and complain. I can't promise I'll fix it, but hey. Review anyway, it won't hurt. Unless your keyboard prodeces fire everytime you hit a key and reviewing would make you spontaneously combust. In that case, don't review. I'd feel guilty. XD Um, well, that was off topic. SO! How'd you like it? Did you like Mika's fighting style? I rather enjoyed writing this, and I'm really looking forward to the events to come!

Well, with that said, I shall end this rather lengthy Author Note and bid you adieu.

Bye!


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I'd like to throw it out there that Eiichiro Oda owns One Piece. Most of the characters in this story are original, but the setting is not. The Grand Line... North Blue... East Blue... West Blue... South Blue... All Blue... Skypeia... Luffy... Nami... Zoro... Sanji... All belong to Oda-sensei. As do all those cool characters and inventions I forgot to(was too lazy to) mention.**

~~~~~~~~~~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chapter Nine: Hide and Seek

~~~~~~~~~~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Admiral Thompson sat at his desk, staring at the picture of his daughter and thinking of the last heated conversation they'd shared. He'd told her he was sending someone after her, and ever since those words had been spoken, a long list of possibilities ran through his head. He was too rough, she wasn't rough enough. He's too lazy, she's too weak. Who would a good opponent for his daughter be? One who would know to bring her alive, but one who wouldn't go easy on her just because of who she was.

Lieutenant

Grey slipped in quietly and took his seat in front of Admiral Thompson. "Sir, I got the list you requested, but I feel I have to warn you, if the World Government thinks you're going easy on a pirate…"

"Don't call my child a pirate." Admiral said, snatching away the list. "She's just going through a rebellious stage is all."

"Sir, we just got reports of an Electric Devil sighting." The lieutenant said. "A group of bounty hunters just came in, screaming bloody murder about a huge group of murderous pirates- mostly big muscled up guys with huge swords. They say the main crew had Mika Aida and Blacksmith Elaine."

"Blacksmith Elaine?" Admiral Thompson repeated. "She's definitely a part of Natalia's crew, but…"

"But?" The lieutenant repeated. "If the pirate spy is with them, we can't afford any slip-ups. Truthfully, I think only one person can get the job done."

"Oh?" Admiral Thompson asked. "Who's that?"

The lieutenant took the folder back and flipped through it's contents, finally pulling out a picture of a young woman with short black hair and turquoise streaks. Admiral Thompson grinned, recognition hitting him immediately. "Now, why didn't I think of her earlier? She's perfect!"

"Nothing short of what you'd expect from Captain Smoker's little cousin." Lieutenant Grey replied. "This kid hasn't seen action in quite a while. She's been fired and rehired a record time of three hundred times. It seems she has difficult views, but is too valuable to let go of. So, she was put in suspension for a while, just going around cleaning up port towns."

"Smoker would be ashamed." Admiral Thompson replied. "Let's show the girl some action, shall we?"

"Right away, sir! I'll inform the commander of your decision and-" The lieutenant was cut off by Admiral Thompson's hand flying up.

"I'll tell her." The admiral smirked. "And I'll give her a bit of a warm-up."

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

"Ready?" Ellie yelled. "Set?" She fired a pistol, left by some poor dead bounty hunter, and yelled, "GO!"

Jonathan and Mika ran off into the woods to hide, while Natalia and Silhouette faced the ship. Mika had gotten first pick of her partner yesterday, and whatever kind of crazy wolf thoughts filled that girl's mind had pointed straight to Jonathan, who was feeling very, very unfortunate. Natalia, by nature, stuck with her first mate.

The crisp morning air was disrupted by the scent of Ellie's freshly made coffee. Since the game had been decided, Natalia had ordered everyone to get a good night's rest, and get ready for the huge event that was 'Hide and Seek.' Ellie, for one, thought it was ridiculous. But, if Natalia, Silhouette, Mika and Jonathan wanted to die from overexerting themselves, it really wasn't her problem. Actually, as the doctor, it was, but for now she'd ignore that.

Once fifteen minutes had passed, Ellie sent Elaine out to patrol the border they'd chosen, which was the river. Once Elaine had disappeared into the forest, Ellie told Natalia and Silhouette to get in there as well or else they'd lose. Alone, the doctor settled into the crows nest, watching the forest and the horizon. Faintly, she wondered if those bounty hunters had realized Mika had escaped.

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

When Admiral Thompson had asked around, he'd found that Commander Saito's newest favorite pass time activity was harassing her new second in command. It was actually quite amazing the poor sap hadn't quit yet, like the dozen or so others. However, Saito was not impressed with his will, and decided to push him to his limits.

Admiral Thompson was right to assume the commander was in one of the training rooms, fighting with her second in command. When he approached their door, the first shout he heard was one of, "Dammit, you call that a thrust, pansy? Try it again!"

"I am, I am! I told you, I don't normally work with swords!" The frazzled man replied.

"I know!" Commander Saito yelled. "That's why I'm teaching you! Now block, dammit!"

When Admiral Thompson opened the door, a sword whizzed past his head and stabbed into the wall. He gave the sword a lazy glance, and looked back. Commander Saito had her hands on her hips. Her white shirt with the marine symbol hung snugly to her frame, revealing that though her second command was soaked to the bone, the woman hadn't even broken a sweat.

The second in command was panting, but bowed lowly anyways. "Admiral Thompson! Gomen nasai!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, what do you want, hotshot?" Commander Saito demanded, sheathing her sword. "You're interrupting something, you know."

"Still rude as ever, I see." Admiral Thompson said. "You know, I've been promoted since we last spoke."

"Yeah, I've heard. You went and got your lazy ass a big office." Saito smirked. "How's the kid?"

"Good, you've heard about that." Admiral Thompson replied, ignoring the commander's blatant disrespect. "I'm assigning you to track, capture and bring in my daughter and her crewmates. I don't care what those damned bounty posters say, either, I want all of them brought in alive."

Commander Saito nodded. "I see. Do I get to see these 'damned' bounty posters?"

Admiral nodded, handing her six, neatly stacked bounty posters, his daughter's on top.

Saito looked up. "So, are these all the bounty posters? I heard she had a thousand meat-heads with swords working under her."

Admiral Thompson rolled his eyes. "I don't believe a word those bounty hunters say. They also said Mika Aida was with her- you know, the pirate spy. That girl alone could've taken out their whole shipload of men."

Commander Saito grinned, pulling Mika's poster out of the stack and laying in on top. "Mika Aida, it's been a while."

"She's the reason you got this job. You've caught her once, you can do it again." Admiral Thompson said.

Saito nodded. "However, I refuse to do so unless you've repaired those holding cells. I still don't know how she did it, but she escaped under your watch, not mine."

The admiral rolled his eyes. "We'll make sure to. Your crew is moving out in a week, got it?"

Commander Saito nodded. "Thank you for the job, hotshot."

Admiral Thompson rolled his eyes and looked to her second. "And you, you're fired."

His jaw dropped as he sunk to the floor. "All these months of hard training for nothing?"

"That's the marines for you." Saito replied. "Now get out before I kick you out."

The man rushed by, leaving a smoke trail.

"Now, for your new second, you'll be using one of my men. I want full reports on every move you make, and I don't trust you to do it. You may 'forget.'"

Saito rolled her eyes. "Fine, but if he's obnoxious, I'll kill him."

"Follow me, I'll let you meet him." The admiral said, walking out of the room.

Hesitantly, Commander Nariko K. Saito followed him.

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

"Hurry up or I'll leave you!" Mika yelled, running through the canopy, jumping confidently branch to branch.

"What are you?" Jonathan yelled, "A wolf, a cat, or a monkey?"

Mika gripped a branch and dropped down from the canopy where she was running side-to-side with her partner. "A wolf, why does everyone keep asking?"

Jonathan rolled his eyes and attempted to speed up, but fell flat on his face. Mika sped ahead instead of helping him out, and disappeared before Jonathan looked up. He blinked, trying to justify that Mika was too nice to leave him alone, in heavily trapped woods.

When that failed, he opened his mouth to yell for her, just when she popped out of a bush. "Here!" She said, happily. "You can hide in this bush! It's hollow because they were using it to hide mechanics of a trap. Just lay down and take a nap until Ellie sounds the second gunshot."

Jonathan blinked. Instead of abandoning him, she'd actually put his hiding spot above her own! He'd judged her wrongly again. "Thanks, but what about you?"

Mika scoffed. "I don't need a hiding place, I'm too good at this game. I'm just making sure you don't screw things up."

Jonathan's warm and fuzzy feeling disappeared as if it'd been struck by a tsunami.

"I'm going to go spy on Natalia and Silhouette. I'll be back to warn you when they get near, okay?" Mika said.

Jonathan glared at her, but nodded, and climbed into his hiding spot with a sigh. Mika was just too unpredictable for her own good.

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

Admiral Thompson and Commander Saito got plenty of odd looks when they marched into the cafeteria, looking as if they'd single handedly come to fire every single marine in sight.

The admiral motioned for Saito to sit at a table that was instantly cleared of all residents other than one man. Said man pushed his glasses higher on his nose, watching his friends abandon him.

He looked to Admiral Thompson and Commander Saito with a cocked eyebrow. "Admiral, Commander." He acknowledged, giving each a small bow. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"

"A promotion." Admiral Thompson replied.

Commander Saito, unimpressed by the admiral's choice, was busy glaring at the wall and mouthing 'a promotion,' then a series of inaudible rants.

"I want you to be Commander Saito's second in command for this assignment." Admiral Thompson said. "Think you can handle it?"

The man took another bite of his dumplings and looked Saito over, short black hair, turquoise streaks, defined collar bone, flatter than average chest, slim waist, average hips. The woman had an athletic build, and her sharp icy blue eyes could capture you before you could even think twice. Commander Saito was a legend- a woman fired and rehired multiple times due to her blatant lack of respect towards superiors and the overall respect she held for any fighter- marine, bounty hunter, civilian or pirate. And the worst part was that she was just too good to dispose of.

As the commander's eyes flashed towards him, the man reeled back a little, and the whole cafeteria seemed to be holding their breath. Commander Saito stood, and drew her sword. Using the flat of the blade to lift his chin, she ordered, "Prove you can fight and I'll consider you."

The admiral sighed. He hadn't expected Saito to so easily accept a marine such as this as her second. But that was what he liked about this particular marine- a lieutenant, always completely willing to take orders, no matter what the order. Be it dispose of a witness, or take out a pirate legion, timeless times the man had proven his loyalty to him was absolute.

"Well, son, if you can't prove it to her, you won't get the promotion." Admiral Thompson said, cocking an eyebrow. The marine nodded, the florescent lights reflecting off his glasses as he stood, drawing his own weapon.

"Well, then, Admiral Thompson-sama, I suppose I have no choice."

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

Silhouette frowned, glancing about the path again. They had a little under fifteen minutes to capture and bring Mika Aida back to the ship or else they'd lose the round. It also didn't help that Natalia had insisted upon splitting up. Not that she needed her help, she just had a feeling something weird was going to pop up. Like a purple wolf running across her path, chased by a rabid redhead.

Which, actually, only about ten seconds after she'd thought it, she'd heard the rustling and stopped, only to be plowed down by said purple wolf, and tripped over by said rabid redhead.

It was then that she found herself caught in the chase as well, shaking her fist and yelling, "Dammit! You could at least apologize!" The chase continued until Mika and Natalia took a too-sharp turn to avoid running into the river, and Silhouette kept going, desperately clawing at the air to try and stop from falling.

Once she submerged, her only thought was, 'shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, I'm dead.'

Silhouette heard a loud splash, and the last thing she saw (well, last thing other than a few freshwater fish swimming in front of her) was a large hand reaching out to her.

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

Another loud crash of steel against tile echoed through the cafeteria as Lieutenant Kaneko was, once again, disarmed. Commander Saito smirked and indicated with her sword for the man to reclaim his weapon.

"You, sir, are a truly horrid fighter." Saito said, unable to hide her smirk.

"On the contrary," the lieutenant replied, grunting as he blocked an expertly executed blow, "you're just that good."

"Flattery will get you nowhere with me, boy." Commander Saito announced.

The lieutenant laughed. "I think everyone here knows that."

"You're brave." Saito pointed out. "But I can't decide if it's an act, or stupidity."

Another rattle alerted the crowd that the lieutenant had been disarmed yet again.

Commander Saito gave a challenging smirk, but with an indication from Admiral Thompson, he sheathed his sword. Saito sighed and sat, purposely putting her back to the lieutenant. "He's too average." she replied. "I don't like him. Plus, he plays it by the book."

"That would be a welcome change." the admiral replied, "Anything about you becoming 'by the book'."

"It won't happen." Saito replied. "And I won't let this man on my ship. Though, I have to admit, fighting him was fun."

It's not your choice, commander." Admiral Thompson replied. "I need someone _reliable _with you on this assignment. I've said earlier I want to know what happens, when it happens, and this is the man for the job." The admiral patted Lieutenant Kaneko on the back. "Think of him as your leash."

Commander Saito stood and walked away, before exiting, she sent Admiral Thompson a deadly glare. "If you're trying to call me your dog, I'm not."

Curtly, she turned her back and left, leaving the cafeteria door to swing back and forth.

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

"Ready?" Ellie yelled. "Set?" She fired her new pistol, and yelled, "GO!"

This time, it was Silhouette and Natalia who ran into the jungle, immediately trying to find hiding spots. They decided over their lunch break, that splitting up would just complicate things.

Moments of silence passed as Natalia and Silhouette settled into a steady pace.

"It's kind of funny, you know?" Silhouette asked, chuckling to herself.

Natalia looked at her first mate. "No. No, I cannot say I know."

Silhouette scoffed. "First, we think there's a ghost on the ship. The ghost turns into Mika Aida the infamous pirate spy, master of games, the professional stow-away! We stumble into a huge treasure and we don't even have time to celebrate because Mika escapes bounty hunters and Elaine's life is threatened!"

"And that's kind of funny?" Natalia asked. "Maybe Ellie should've checked you over during lunch, you're spewing nonsense!"

Silhouette rolled her eyes. "I realized when I agreed to be your first mate that I'd be living a pirate's life and it'd be adventurous, but I didn't know adventure would hit me all at once from every side."

Natalia shrugged. "Should've thought of that, but Miss 'Deadly Breeze' it's a little late now. If you have complaints…"

"No." Silhouette said. "I like it. Never a dull moment, you know?"

Natalia grinned. "I know."

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

Elaine wondered along the edge of the river, messing with a few trinkets she'd picked up from the circus. Nothing special, just a few cheap metal bracelets. She was so used to practicing her Devil's Fruit power on iron and stronger metals she didn't know if she even _could _reform whatever cheap material was in those things.

"Kaisei Kaisei no…"

"FOUND YOU!" Mika's shrill voice rang out.

Simultaneously, Natalia and Silhouette's screams broke free of the jungle, but disappeared again into the river. Mika skidded to a stop just in time and gave Elaine a happy little wave.

Jonathan thoughtlessly dived in after the girls, saving Silhouette for the second time that day, and Natalia for the first.

Side by side, both girls spouted out their water in neat little fountains until their systems were cleared. Still, both were passed out.

"Carry them to the ship, Jonathan! We won, we won!" Mika said, jumping up and down excitedly.

"Not just yet." Elaine reminded them. After all, that was her job as referee. "You still have to get them back to the ship before Ellie fires that shot."

Mika nodded once, her expression blank. Then, she grinned, "Let's go!" She yelled, running down the path. Jonathan sighed, but with his captain over one shoulder and the first mate over the other, he fell into a steady pace next to Elaine, who started staring at three cheap looking bracelets. Before he could comment, the girl whispered, "Okami Mayoke." The metals in her hand melted down, then formed itself into a small metal charm. Upon closer inspection, it was a wolf.

Elaine finally caught Jonathan's stare and smiled, carefully putting the wolf charm in the bag where it wouldn't get crushed… but even if it did, it would be almost too easy to fix.

Cherishing the silence, the two walked back to the Pride.

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

"Commander Saito?" Lieutenant Kaneko asked.

The commander looked up at her new second and went back to shining, polishing and repairing her sword. "What do you want?" She asked.

"Just… to make amends." The lieutenant claimed the seat in front of his commander's desk. "It seems our relationship started off on the wrong foot."

Commander Saito sighed, laying her sword down carefully on her desk. She looked up sharply with those icy blue eyes. Like crystals in a snow storm. "Look now, I'm going to lay down a few rules, and you're going to follow them."

The lieutenant, felt his plans to 'make amends' weren't going to work on her.

"One; we do not have a relationship. Until I decide you really are like my crew and I, we have no relationship. Two; the only reason any of my seconds and I have ever started off on the wrong foot is because of that smug-ass Admiral Thompson, got it? Nothing personal." Saito interlaced her fingers and rested her chin on them, her elbows catching on her desk. "Got it?"

"That's all?" The lieutenant asked. "I can handle that."

"Yeah well, if you start aggravating me I'll make more rules." Commander Saito replied. "So, Thompson wants to make sure I don't kill his kid, right?"

"Right." Lieutenant replied.

Saito scoffed. Her? Hurt Natalia? She could never. Maybe Natalia didn't remember it, but when the Natalia Thompson was four years old and Nariko Saito was fourteen, she and her cousin had come over to play. Of course, the girl had started spewing nonsense about becoming a great pirate, like her mom would, and Smoker had told her (being twenty four at the time and relatively new in the ranks) that pirates were scum and that wasn't a good thing for a young lady to say. Natalia had burst into tears, and her mother came to her rescue, whisking her into her arms and pounding a fist into Smoker's head.

"Don't crush a child's dream, Smoker-kun." The woman replied, curtly, turning and taking Natalia to take a nap.

But, maybe Admiral Thompson had mistaken her for one of his dogs and thought she believed in 'Absolute Justice.' Much like her cousin, she believed it to be a load of crap. Maybe, though, _that _was the reason she got this job…

Commander Saito shook her head, forcing herself out of her thoughts and into the real world. She realized suddenly she'd started polishing her sword again. She looked up at her new second and sighed. "I'll make your job easy. I won't kill Natalia. I'll simply bring her in. You can go now, lieutenant."

The lieutenant nodded and headed for the door then hesitated at the door. Commander Saito looked up to see him bow respectively and give her one last farewell.

"I look forward to working with you, Commander Saito-sama."

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

"Where am I?" Natalia asked, snapping awake and jumping off her bed. She looked around to see all familiar surroundings and laughed, rubbing the back of her head. "I guess that means we lost."

Wondering out of her room, Natalia found the main deck in time to hear Elaine's cry of, "Dinner's ready!"

Silhouette spotted her and came over before eating. "Natalia! How are you feeling?"

Natalia shrugged, stretching. "I'm more worried about you." She yawned. "You almost drowned twice today."

Silhouette shrugged, and the pair started walking calmly towards the kitchen. "Ellie said it was nothing major. But she thinks you hit your head on something, because I woke up about two hours ahead of you."

Natalia shrugged. "That would explain the headache."

Silhouette laughed and held the door open for her captain, then slipped in herself. The two took their respective seats, Natalia at the head of the table and Silhouette to the right of her. Jonathan at her left, smiled. "Morning, sleeping beauty."

Natalia's left eye twitched. "You know, I was going to thank you before that comment. Now I think I'll ignore your existence. Thank you for the checkup, Ellie."

Ellie smiled, "No problem, sencho-sama."

Elaine placed the first dish on the table and smiled as everyone dug in.

Except…

"Hey, where's Mika?" Natalia asked.

Everyone looked to the extra spot at the table Elaine had set just for the half wolf.

"Probably in the crows nest." Silhouette replied, ignoring the empty seat.

"Um, Silhouette-san…" Elaine said, timidly, "It doesn't bother you that we left the island two hours ago?"

"We left the island?" Natalia asked, going ignored by her crew.

"Not in the slightest." The navigator replied.

Jonathan shrugged. "Mika won the game. She has her freedom for three islands. However, I'd expected her to hang around."

"Me too." Ellie agreed. "It kind of feels like we went through all the trouble of playing Hide and Seek for no reason…"

"I feel like a moron for thinking we could win." Natalia said. "No one told me she was so good at games!"

Silhouette glared at her captain. "Natalia, we've told you on multiple occasions that Mika Aida is known as the 'Master of Games.'"

"Oh, had you?" Natalia asked, taking another bite of a wonderfully seasoned fish.

Silhouette rolled her eyes, and the crew dropped the conversation.

Outside, Mika smiled to herself, sitting up in the crows nest, watching the pink fade from the farthest parts of the sky, like a blanket being pulled away to reveal a whole sky full of stars. She could always understand why humans thought wolves howled at the moon. In a way, there had always been something about the sphere that made Mika want to tell it her deepest secrets, though from it's God-like position, it'd probably seen all of Mika's past.

Mika smiled, glad that for three islands at least, she could stay with her new friends. She was used to the proposition of 'you can't freeload on this ship unless you're our nakama.' So many pirates had told her that before. And every time she came up with the same proposition in return. Three islands… That gave her a month, give or take. A month to decide rather or not this crew was 'the' crew.

She smiled at the thought, closed her eyes, and let herself drift into a fitful sleep.

oo~~O~~oo~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~oo~~O~~oo

Thanks for reading! The reason there are two parts of this chapter (the marine side and the hide and seek part) is because I simply didn't find one whole chapter with nothing but playing Hide and Seek appealing. So, I shoved a character introduction in there. I'd also like to mention that Commander Saito is the _**only**___ character that will edit one of the original One Piece character's heritage. Why? Because I wanted a reason to mention Captain Smoker repetitively. Because I like Smoker. She's also the first character with a fully Japanese name! :D

And as for the really random game, Mika's like that. She likes games. Simple as that. So, with that being said and done, ciao!

Bye!


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I'd like to throw it out there that Eiichiro Oda owns One Piece. Most of the characters in this story are original, but the setting is not. The Grand Line... North Blue... East Blue... West Blue... South Blue... All Blue... Skypeia... Luffy... Nami... Zoro... Sanji... All belong to Oda-sensei. As do all those cool characters and inventions I forgot to(was too lazy to) mention.**

~~~~~~~~~~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chapter Ten: Saving a Stranger

~~~~~~~~~~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A sharp, painful kick in the side woke Mika up. The girl, thinking the crew was under attack, immediately spun around and clung onto the side of the crows nest, sitting like a frog and looking straight into the coal-black eyes of Ellie.

"Huh? What's goin-"

"Well no wonder you got freaking Scarlet Fever! When was the last time you actually slept in a bed?" Ellie asked, hands on her hips.

Mika blinked. "I haven't since you kicked me out of the infirmary-"

"Didn't our idiot captain give you a room? Does she think of anything?" Ellie sighed, exasperated. "Come on, Mika, I'll talk to her about getting you a bed."

Mika blinked. _What just happened…?_

"HURRY UP!" Ellie yelled, already on deck.

Mika, still sitting like a frog on the railing, simply let herself fall back, then twisted her body last moment into a back flip that landed her on her feet, right beside Ellie.

It was Ellie's turn to blink. She opened her mouth, but before she allowed words to escape, she shook her head and started off to find their captain.

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

Natalia was helping Silhouette rearrange her closet. Why? The captain honestly had nothing better to do. And besides, Silhouette had said, 'Natalia, the only way you could possibly help me at this point is just to sit down, and shut up.'

Begrudgingly, Natalia did so. Well, she sat down, but she insisted upon striking up conversation with her first mate.

Silhouette reached her breaking point just as Ellie opened the door. "Silhouette, have you seen- Natalia! We need to discuss Mika's rooming."

"Hm?" The redhead looked behind Ellie, for some reason, expecting Mika to be there… or at least somewhere around her. "What about it? Hasn't she been using one of the unused cabins?"

Ellie blinked. "No. She's been sleeping in the crows nest."

"Well, where is she? It'd be a lot easier to-"

"I'm right here." Mika announced, dropping down from the ceiling.

"Uh huh…" Natalia said, left eye twitching. So far, it'd been three days sailing with Mika Aida, and every single crewmate was missing that precious hour they'd thought the wolf girl had decided to stay on that treasure island of no name. "Mika, feel free to use one of the spare bedrooms. Jonathan can even help you move your stuff into it."

"Stuff?" Mika repeated, sitting cross-legged on the floor. "I don't have any."

"You… don't have…?" Natalia repeated.

Silhouette looked sharply up from her closet and looked the half-wolf over. She wore the same black skin-tight elbow-long undershirt, purple tank top, tights and a purple mini skirt and black and purple striped knee-high socks… the same outfit the wolf was wearing during and since their first meeting. Silhouette's face slowly turned to one of disgust. "Mika, how long have you been wearing that?"

Mika looked down at her outfit, then up to Silhouette and shrugged.

Ellie and Natalia caught on, and gagged.

Silhouette fished out a fresh outfit from her closet and fresh undergarments from her dresser. "Go take a very long, very clean shower, and put these on." Silhouette ordered, throwing them at the girl.

Mika caught them, and sniffed them, then looked up at Silhouette.

"If you don't do that _now _I'll throw you over board and tie Jonathan to the mast when he tries to save you." Silhouette said.

This stirred the little wolf into action. She stood quickly ran like lightening to the bathroom. Ellie, Natalia and Silhouette shuddered when she was gone. "At the next island, I want you two to take her clothes shopping… and teach her what's wrong about wearing the same outfit… always."

Ellie and Silhouette didn't even protest. They just nodded simultaneously.

Natalia sighed and stood, stretching. "Well, I'm going to make sure she shut the door and doesn't break anything."

When Natalia said, 'shut the door' the bathroom door slammed shut.

The three of them rolled their eyes, and went their separate ways, to go about their separate business.

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

Elaine hummed, stirring her soup. It was famous among her village in the old days, before the pirates took over. Her parents taught her how to make it one year, and she'd submitted it into a Shinsei Island Cook-Off. It had been pretty amazing for a ten year old girl to have won the cook off.

The soup was what her mother like to call, 'Hot and Cold soup.' It was made with a special ingredient only found on exotic riverbeds. A special kind of kelp, that stayed alive by releasing a special chemical when harmed- at first, it inflamed delicate tissues, then caused their body temperature to drop drastically. But that was in small fish. In humans, it was like eating salsa, then ice cream. With certain ingredients and boiled into soup, it was really quite delicious. When she'd found the ingredient in the river, she hadn't been able to help picking some.

She smiled, unable to wait to see her crewmates reactions.

Once Elaine was satisfied with her stirring, and after adding the final ingredient, she sat at the table and opened the newspaper, skipping the article about the Ghost of the Grand Line and reading about a couple of bounty hunters.

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

It was around noon when Ellie first spotted land. Normally she'd be a little excited, but the thought of the task at hand frightened her. Mika Aida, nothing but a little fuzz ball of pure energy, clothes shopping? Somehow, Ellie didn't think this evening was going to end well.

"Okay! So, who's doing what?" Natalia asked.

"Clothes shopping." Silhouette and Ellie droned, each holding one of Mika's hands so she wouldn't esca- disappear.

Jonathan held up a grocery list Elaine had given him. "Picking up food supplies. Elaine's volunteered to watch the ship this afternoon."

Natalia nodded. "And I've got to pick up more supplies to repair railing… So! Everybody, avoid trouble." She gave a thumbs up, and jumped over the side of the ship, landing knee-deep in ocean water. Her crewmates watched as she waded back to shore.

Jonathan sighed, dropping anchor. "You'd think she'd think to-" he looked back, only to see Silhouette and Ellie had jumped as well, chasing a half-wolf that, for the life of her, wouldn't go clothes shopping.

Jonathan hid his annoyance, waved goodbye to a giggling Elaine, and jumped as well.

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

"NO!" Mika yelled, jumping into a tree and sticking to a branch that was too far out of Silhouette or Ellie's reach. "I don't want to! I hate clothes shopping!"

"So? You can't just avoid it!" Silhouette said. "Captains orders; we have to buy you clothes. Now suck it up and come with us so you don't end up hating all your clothes!"

"No!" As the wolf stuck her tongue out and sprang to the next tree, heading back to the ship, Silhouette sighed, realizing why her clothes had been skin-tight. Silhouette had leant Mika a baggy T-shirt and a pair of red shorts, and when the little half-wolf positioned herself higher, you could see _everything_.

Ellie sighed as well, coming to the same conclusion. "You know, we could shop for her if we knew her size."

"But we don't. So we need the little pest." Silhouette replied. "By the way… did Natalia ever specify if we could or couldn't use force?"

Ellie's eyes lit up. "No, no she did not!"

Silhouette and Ellie exchanged positively evil smirks, and ran after Mika Aida.

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

Natalia walked along the market place, not seeing one good place that sold repair supplies. If she couldn't find one, she'd have to ask someone and that might lead to recognition. In the back of her head she wondered if Silhouette, Ellie and Mika would be alright.

As Natalia turned a corner, she realized she was being followed. Experimentally, she took another turn, and sure enough, her stalker did as well. Natalia ignored her for the time being- after all, it was only a little girl, clutching some sort of paper to her chest.

She waved at Jonathan who seemed to be arguing with a shopkeeper. Natalia rolled her eyes and moved on.

"Onee-chan?" The little girl asked, quickening her pace to catch up with Natalia. "O-Onee-chan?"

Natalia ignored her, thinking (or was it hoping?) that it would make the kid go away. She glanced in the opposite direction, hoping for a lumberyard.

"Onee-chan, if you're lost or looking for something I can help you, but first…" The little girl looked at the paper, then up at Natalia.

"Okay, kid, what is it?" Natalia asked. She really never had been good with kids… even when she was a kid, she'd never gotten along with the others.

The girl turned the paper around to show Natalia, and pointed to the picture. "This is you, right, onee-chan?"

Natalia mentally kicked herself. A bounty poster. Not just _any _bounty poster, _her_ bounty poster. "Yeah, it is kid. I'm a big bad pirate. Now go run to your mommy before I eat you." Natalia posed like a monster, forcing her fingers into claw-like positions.

"I don't have a mommy." The girl replied.

Natalia mentally kicked herself harder. "Oh, I'm… sorry. Then, go to your daddy. I'm sure he wouldn't want you-"

"I don't have a daddy either." The little girl said, bowing her head on the verge of tears.

"Oh God, I'm so sorry. Umm… aunt? Uncle? Brother? Sister? Anyone?" Natalia tried.

"T-that's what I wanted to ask you about…" the little girl said, wiping her tears away with a fist. "I-I can take you where ever you need to go on this island, b-but my onee-chan got taken away by marines… people with these posters are strong, right? Y-you can help, right?"

Natalia mentally grabbed her brain and threw it as far into her theoretical ocean as she could. "N-no, kid, I don't help random strangers."

The little kid started crying harder.

"O-oh God, please don't cry."

She started sobbing.

"O-oh no, please no, really, it's nothing personal, just…"

The kid started hiccupping as her sobs got harder and harder.

"Oh God, please… please stop…" Natalia looked around for anyone- anything to entertain or distract the kid with no avail. "Umm… come on… think about puppy dogs or unicorns or whatever little kids like you think about…!"

More heart-wrenching sobs came from the kid.

Natalia stood, "ALRIGHT! I'll save your sister just PLEASE STOP CRYING!" Most of the market place froze and looked at Natalia, who uttered a little whimper and looked back at the kid who was looking up at Natalia through her tears.

Natalia sighed. "Where's she held?"

"In the marine headquarters. Come on, onee-chan!" The little girl said.

Natalia sighed. "Wait, wait now, I just can't run in there. I'll need to make a plan with my crew. And first you show me the lumberyard, okay?"

"Lumberyard?" The girl repeated. "We don't have one."

Natalia's left eye twitched. "No… lumber… yard…?" she whimpered.

When Natalia hung her head in rage and disappointment, the little girl frowned. "Eh, onee-chan? Are you okay?"

"Just come with me." Natalia said, emitting a dangerous aura to everyone around her.

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

Silhouette and Ellie dragged Mika into the clothing store with three large bumps on her head and cocooned in rope. It wasn't so much the binds that were really keeping the girl in line, it was the threat… or more of the promise Silhouette had made Mika. 'If you don't stop struggling, I'll throw you overboard.'

Ellie and Silhouette had been expecting an terrified look from the cashier, but what they got was a calm glance, and then the woman went back to reading her newspaper.

For a moment, the pair wondered if they should be worried.

But then Mika bit Ellie's hand.

"MIKA YOU LITTLE PEST- BITE ME ONE MORE TIME AND I'LL-"

Silhouette slapped her hand over Ellie's mouth, dragging both the enraged doctor and the obnoxious spy to the back of the store.

"Ellie- manners! We do not scream in stores. Mika- calm down! This isn't torture. It's for your own benefit!" Silhouette scolded.

Mika and Ellie were too busy glaring at Silhouette to care what she was saying.

Silhouette rolled her eyes. "Let's just get this over with."

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

Jonathan had hurried up after hearing Natalia's scream of, "ALRIGHT! PLEASE STOP CRYING!" Wondering what kind of trouble his captain had gotten into this time, Jonathan hurried back to the ship, carrying the bulk of the supplies. The rest would be delivered later.

When he got there, he saw Natalia, laying on her stomach on the deck her face turned away from him.

He dropped the groceries and ran up to her, "Natalia! Are you okay?"

The captain let out a strange hissing noise, and Elaine emerged from the kitchen, a young child hiding behind her back. "Oh! Jonathan, it was you. Natalia's a bit… upset… at the moment… I wouldn't bother her."

Jonathan looked at the captain, who was emitting a malicious aura again. The same hissing noise intensified, and Jonathan stepped back.

"Hi onii-chan!" The little girl greeted cutely, "You're onee-chan's nakama, right?"

Jonathan nodded once, then looked up to Elaine, pointing to the child. "Who's the kid?"

Elaine smiled, "Natalia picked her up. She seems to be upset over agreeing to help the child with nothing in return, because there is no lumberyard here."

"I'm lost." Jonathan replied.

Elaine explained to him that Natalia was asked to save the child's sister from the marines in exchange for directions to a nonexistent lumberyard.

"But is that reaction really necessary?" Jonathan asked.

Elaine sighed and shrugged. "Anyway, we're going to start planning an invasion once the others get back."

Jonathan nodded and took a seat against the railing, resting his eyes until the others replied.

That didn't take long.

A loud fleshy thud hit the deck and Jonathan opened his eyes to see Mika had collapsed next to Natalia in a very similar position. Silhouette and Ellie sighed, carrying six bags of clothes each.

Jonathan blinked. _How many outfits do they really think she needs…? _

"Hey guys we're-" Silhouette stopped dead mid-sentence. "Who's kid?"

"Hi, onee-chans!" The little girl greeted, happily.

"Uh, hi." Ellie said. She immediately leaned in closer, lifting up the kid's shirt sleeve. "Where'd you get that bruise?"

"Huh?" The girl asked, flinching when Ellie touched it. "It's from the marines."

"Marines did this?" Ellie asked. "To a citizen? To a _child_?"

The girl nodded.

Ellie clenched her fists. "I'll kill the basta-"

Silhouette cleared her throat. "Watch the language."

Ellie sighed. "Come with me, kid, I'll give you a free checkup."

She nodded hesitantly, but followed Ellie to her infirmary regardless.

"Okay, then, I suppose we need to start planning." Elaine said.

"Planning?" Silhouette asked, leaning against the railing and looking at her seething captain. "Planning for what?"

Natalia mumbled something inaudible, that went about like this, "Mumble, mumble kid mumble, mumble break into the marine headquarters, mumble, mumble, save the kid's sister."

Elaine cleared her throat. "The little girl, Sophia, convinced Natalia to save her sister from the marines in exchange for directions to the lumberyard."

Natalia grumbled again, this time coming out as, "Mumble, mumble, lumberyard, mumble, mumble brat."

"Turns out there is no lumberyard on this island." Elaine said, ignoring Natalia's censored input. "Well, Sophia's sister, Emily, stole from the market to feed Sophia and herself. It seems she got caught and is sentenced to be executed tomorrow."

Silhouette gasped.

"Pretty harsh judgment, don't you think?" Jonathan asked.

"Well, this same girl used to work smuggling pirates mail from their families. She quit though. Also, she shot two marines struggling, but she didn't kill them. The marines kicked her away when she tried to follow her sister." Elaine replied, with a sad sigh.

"Well, that's good enough of a reason to attack, right?" Silhouette said. "Why is Natalia so depressed, she should be energetically leading! Like she normally does!"

"I think she believes Sophia tricked her into helping and is, therefore, depressed." Elaine replied. "That's my guess at least."

Silhouette walked up to her captain and kicked her sharply in the side, sending her rolling over on top of Mika who yelped and jumped up, latching herself onto the rope ladder. Jonathan, shielding his eyes in fear of getting hit, stumbled over the railing and fell into the shallow water.

Silhouette, Natalia, Mika and Elaine all leaned over the railing to make sure the swordsman was still breathing.

All at once, the girls yelled, "Ellie!"

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

Sneaking into the marine's base would be fairly simple this time. Natalia lead, a little more enthusiastic after recovering from the fact that there was no lumberyard.

The plan was to stick together, get the keys from some poor sap at a desk, have the child identify her sister, and they'd break her out. Whatever happened to the pair later wasn't of the Electric Devil's concern.

As for Elaine's soup, she'd decided to wait until after the breakout and give the crew a healthy snack instead. That way, upon getting out, the older sister could have a nice dinner. Of course, she hadn't told Natalia of the plans, knowing it contradicted _her _plan of get in, get 'onee-chan' out, leave the girls.

Crouched in the shadows the woods provided, Natalia watched the guards pace about.

"Marines are so paranoid." Natalia chuckled. "What, do they think someone's going to break in?"

Ellie hit Natalia over the head and clamped her hand over her captain's mouth to muffle her yelp. "Just what do you think we're doing?"

Natalia pushed the doctor off of her and was about to give some witty remark when Jonathan hissed, "Shut up!"

A guard came passed, a loaded shotgun barrel sweeping the woods, searching.

Elaine whimpered a little, and before the guard could raise an alarm, Natalia hissed, "Shokku Shokku no Hoshutsu!" The little discharge flew straight to the man's chest, stopping his heart.

Silhouette shielded Sophia's innocent little eyes and hissed, "Watch what you do here! There is a child present!"

"So?" Natalia asked. "Coast is clear, let's go." She ran across the small stretch of grass to press herself flat against the wall. Silhouette went out next, followed by Sophia, Jonathan, Elaine and Ellie.

"For once, we should've had Mika help out." Ellie grumbled. "This is really more her area of expertise."

"We asked her." Jonathan said. "You were busy tending to Sophia. She said since she's not officially a part of this crew, she didn't have to. She stuck her tongue out, climbed up to the crows nest and shouted that she'd keep an eye out on the ship."

"Ah." Ellie said, not at all surprised.

Another guard came out, and silently, Natalia kicked him in the face, grabbed the back of his head and forced it into the ground, silencing him with a smaller discharge that simply… fried his brain. A little. He would recover. Eventually.

"Hey, Jonathan, this uniform is your size, right?" Natalia asked.

"That didn't work so well at the last island." Jonathan said. "It might not be best to attempt it again."

"It'll be fine, you worry too much." Natalia said. She striped the man of his shirt and threw it at Jonathan, "Put this on."

"Natalia don't just strip a man like that!" Jonathan said. "At least let him have some dignity, let me handle it." He grabbed the man's arms and dragged him into the woods, snatching the shirt on the way.

"So, how's this going to work?" Ellie asked.

"Jonathan dresses up as a guard and takes Sophia and Elaine to whoever is in charge. Then, we'll come in behind him and get the keys-"

"Why can't Jonathan just get the keys? We could just be backup." Silhouette asked.

Natalia glared at them for making more sense than her. "Because I…" She fidgeted a little.

"You wanted to ask the guy about changing your bounty name, didn't you?" Ellie asked, flatly.

Natalia fidgeted more. "Maybe…"

"Just get over it!" Silhouette hissed, slapping Natalia in the back of the head.

"I just want to say that I'm against this." Jonathan said, stepping out of the shadows, dressed as a guard. He sighed, "Come on, Elaine. Sophia."

The two nodded, and allowed Jonathan to handcuff Elaine.

Natalia grumbled to herself as Jonathan, Elaine and Sophia disappeared.

"Natalia, if you didn't want to be backup, you could've gone with them." Silhouette said.

"But I thought Elaine was going because she could escape to help at anytime." Natalia asked.

Ellie and Silhouette stared blankly at their captain. It hadn't crossed their minds that Elaine's Devil Fruit allowed her to reform the handcuffs. They mentally kicked themselves for it, then replied, simultaneously, "We meant you could've gone too!"

Ellie added, "I'm sure that guy had an extra pair of handcuffs."

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

Jonathan was so happy the rooms in this base were labeled. The first few he passed were labeled 'collection.' A few other people in the halls bowed and greeted a bounty hunter and his daughter as they came back. Jonathan, against the wall, did the same and smiled, "You bring your daughter to collect bounties?"

The young man shook his head. "This is my sister. And _she_ caught that guy."

Jonathan nodded slowly, turned, and tried not to start sweating nervously. Elaine poked him in the side and whispered, "Are you alright?"

He only nodded, worried the bounty hunters would catch wind of something about him.

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

"Onii-chan," the young bounty hunter whispered. "those were pirates."

The young man nodded. "'Blacksmith' Elaine and 'Emerald Dragon' Jonathan G. Hartley."

His sister nodded, and let a small smile form on her face. "Shall we keep an eye on them?"

"Of course." The older brother replied, his face apathetic, as always.

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

"What's taking them so long?" Natalia moaned, laying in the grass.

"If something's wrong the marines will sound the alarm." Ellie replied. "And it's only been five minutes."

Natalia groaned. "This is taking too long."

"Would you prefer to be on the ship?" Silhouette asked.

Natalia grumbled a little before replying, "No."

"Then shut up." The first mate and the doctor said together.

Natalia released a sigh, as if saying, 'I'm so abused.' Of course, it went ignored. "Seriously though, how long will this take?"

"Natalia, lay down, look at the stars, and shut up." Silhouette ordered.

Natalia stuck her tongue out at Silhouette and looked up at the stars. A full minute passed, and Ellie and Silhouette relaxed, assuring themselves Natalia wouldn't be so loud anymore.

"So, where's the Big Dipper?" Natalia asked.

Silhouette and Ellie both hit their captain over the head.

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

"Sir, I caught these two wondering around the grounds. The little one says she's looking for her sister, and the other says she was helping." Jonathan said, striking what was, in his mind, the perfect salute.

"What do you want me to do about it?" The man asked. "You know where the prisons are, they're labeled for God's sake! Just throw them in and be done with it!"

"Yes sir, of course sir, but um…" Jonathan bowed his head in feigned shame. "I seem to have dropped my keys somewhere on the grounds, sir."

The man looked at Jonathan and blinked.

For a whole half a second, Jonathan held his breath.

"Oh. We were wondering who dropped these." The man pulled a set of keys out of his desk and tossed them to Jonathan who released a breath inconspicuously.

"Thank you, sir." Jonathan replied, saluting and leaving.

"Yay! Onii-chan is a good actor!" Sophia said, clapping.

"Sh, Sophia! If we get caught now we can't save your onee-chan!" Elaine hissed.

Jonathan shook Elaine as another marine walked by. "Stop that nonsense, you two are going to…" the marine exited hearing range and Jonathan continued in a hushed tone, "…get us in huge trouble if you aren't quiet."

"Gomen, onii-chan." Sophia replied.

"Gomen, Jonathan." Elaine replied, at the same time.

Jonathan entered a large room clearly labeled 'Holding Cells' and looked around. One guard saluted as Jonathan entered, and went back to patrolling. He would be a problem.

Elaine let out a shriek and jerked out of Jonathan's grasp. "No! I can't be arrested!"

The patrolling officer flew into action pointing his gun at her and commanding, "Stop!"

Elaine's eyes widened as she found herself looking down the barrel of a pistol. "Kaisei Kaisei no Tetsu Tsuta!" the man pulled the trigger, but found his gun was melting in on itself, morphing into a handcuff of sorts, writhing into two long iron vines. They twisted his wrists together, and Elaine added, "Kaisei Kaisei no Tetsu Shoryo." Her handcuffs turned to an iron bit, forcing it's way into the officer's mouth and muffling his cries.

The girl bowed deeply and cried, "Gomen nasai!" Before running back to Jonathan.

He stared at his friend blankly for a few seconds before stating, "You're evil."

Elaine shrugged timidly.

"Onee-chan!" Sophia cried, and both pirates turned to look to the child. She was gripping the bars to a cage and jumping up and down. "Onee-chan!"

"Sophia!" An older, yet still youthful voice called. "Sophia, what are you doing here? Who let you in here?"

Jonathan fumbled with the keys and put one in the lock, failing five or six times before the door to the cell separated. Elaine rushed in and put her hand lightly on Emily's restraints. "Kaisei Kaisei no Ibusu." The metal turned liquid and dripped into Elaine's hand, who put it in her bag, adding it to her iron ball.

"Thank you, strangers." Emily said, standing only to bow to them respectively. "You saved me."

"No problem!" Both pirates replied, smiling sincerely.

"But we have to get out of here soon." Jonathan said. "Someone may come to relieve this poor bastard."

Said poor bastard's eyes widened as he was acknowledged, and he squirmed against his too-tight iron restraints and gag.

Sophia, Emily, Elaine and Jonathan ran from the holding cells, ready to bolt from the marine base.

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

"Binkusu no sake o, todoke ni yuku yo. Umikaze, kimakase, namimakase!" Natalia sang, restlessly. "Shio no mukou de, yuuhi mo sawagu. Sora nya wa wo kaku, tori no uta."

"Natalia, stop that!" Silhouette scolded. "You'll attract unneeded attention."

"But I'm bored!" Natalia cried. "I almost want someone to come. If they did we could beat them and it'd give me something to do."

"You obnoxious runt!" Ellie hissed. "Quiet down!"

"Hey! You there!" A deep, male voice called.

Silhouette and Ellie's breath caught in their throats, but Natalia sprang up. "Jonathan! You're late!"

Silhouette and Ellie released their breaths.

"Now, we can drop the girls off in town and-"

"Natalia-sama, I already invited them to dinner tonight."

Natalia looked at her cook. Actually, she _glared _at the cook. "What. Did. You. Say."

"I-it's okay if I'm intruding upon something," Emily said, sensing Natalia's death-inducing aura. "really, Sophia's caused enough trouble for you as is."

"Maybe we should walk and talk." Jonathan said, hearing a cry of, 'They went that way!' and ushering the girls into the woods.

Silhouette and Ellie grabbed Natalia and ran into the woods.

"No, no." Silhouette said. "We insist."

Natalia mumbled something along the lines of, 'It's MY ship' and Ellie kicked her where it hurt. In the stitches along her calf. The captain collapsed, screaming curses at her doctor.

"Oh shit, wrong calf." Ellie said, honestly believing she'd kicked the captain's good calf. "You guys go ahead, I'll get Natalia."

Natalia, streams of pain-induced tears flowing down her cheeks. As Ellie held the captain up, she heard the marines enter the woods. Hurriedly, the two walked as quickly as possible back to the ship.

"When can these stitches come out, by the way?" Natalia asked.

"Would've been tomorrow, but since I think I just reopened the wound, we'll give it another week." Ellie replied. "I'll have to check it tomorrow."

"Will it scar?" Natalia asked.

"Most definitely." Ellie replied.

"Stop! They're over here!" A marine said.

Natalia nudged Ellie. "Turn me around."

Ellie stared at her. "No! We don't have time! You'll figure some way to open that wound even more and-"

"Just do it!" Natalia ordered, exasperated at the sound of rapidly approaching marines.

Ellie obeyed, and Natalia stuck one of her hands out and yelled, "Shokku Shokku no Nami!" A large wave of electricity swept forward, a little of it shifting to Ellie. The marines were silenced, and Ellie let loose a groan of pain and readjusted her captain.

Natalia's eyes drooped as she lost the energy to stand or even keep her eyes opened. Ellie's eyes bulged at the sudden increase of weight against her.

"Jonathan! Jonathan help!" Ellie shrieked.

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

Emily, Sophia and Elaine were getting along well. It seemed Emily and Elaine were a lot alike, and Sophia was just happy to be around her sister again. Silhouette and Jonathan, however couldn't get a grip on the conversation. Silhouette was deep in thought, worrying over her captain. Jonathan could faintly hear the marines approaching from behind.

Jonathan knew Ellie wouldn't have kicked such a sensitive spot on purpose, but he really wished those violent tendencies of hers would go away. He was feeling guiltier and guiltier by the second thinking of how he should've been the one to offer the captain his assistance. Not that Ellie was weak…

A cry of "Jonathan! Jonathan help!" split the air and jerked Jonathan into action, sword drawn.

"Go to the ship!" He ordered, before running back towards Natalia and Ellie.

Natalia, her pant leg soaked in blood mid-calf down, was unconscious, and Ellie was having trouble carrying her. Easily, Jonathan gently took his captain into his arms and looked back towards the marines. Ellie pulled her bow from around her shoulder and armed it, "I've got this Jonathan, take care of Natalia."

Jonathan nodded, and started running back to the ship.

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

Elaine heated up the soup, confident in her nakama's ability to survive. Natalia's condition was worrisome, unable to walk, but surely she was smart enough not to strain an injury like that… right?

Moments felt like hours to Elaine, thinking about all the possibilities that could be holding Jonathan, Ellie and Natalia from returning.

Silhouette drummed her fingers against the kitchen table, watching the door, almost as if she was trying to practice some psychic ability that would make it combust any minute.

Sophia stared at the table, chewing on her bottom lip. Every few minutes, apologizing. The door opened, and everyone spun around, hoping to see the best, but expecting the worst. Instead, they saw Mika, yawning and stretching. "Hi, Elaine… who are you?" She asked, pointing to Emily.

Silhouette clenched her fists. "That's it, I can't wait anymore. They've got to be in some kind of crazy trouble- I'm going to…"

Her sentence trailed off as Jonathan entered, wiping his brow on a rag. He had blood smeared across the left side of his T-shirt, and when no one followed him in, questions started flowing like water from a waterfall.

"Where's Natalia?"

"Is Ellie alright?"

"I didn't cause you too much trouble, did I?"

Jonathan lifted a tired finger to his lips and breathed a quiet, "They're fine."

"What's going on, Jonathan?" Silhouette asked.

Jonathan took his respective seat to the left of the captain's seat and took a drink of whatever Elaine had just sat in front of him. "Ellie tore some of the stitches by accident and she's redoing them now. Natalia wouldn't have fainted, but she used up too much energy in an attack against the marines. I had to carry her back while Ellie held back the marines."

"And now?" Elaine asked.

"They're going back to the base. They'll be back around noon. We can be gone by then." Jonathan replied. He looked to Sophia and Emily. "What will you do?"

The girls exchanged a clueless look and looked back to Jonathan.

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

"So, how are you feeling, captain?" Silhouette asked, handing Natalia her breakfast in bed.

Natalia looked at it, then back up to her first mate. "What's gotten into you? Why are you being so nice?"

Silhouette gave her a flat look. "You're injured. I can be nice to a cripple, can't I?"

Natalia hit her first mate over the head. "Don't call me a cripple!"

Silhouette calmly removed the captain's breakfast from her lap and sat it on the nightstand, then tackled her screaming, "You little runt I dare you to hit me one more time!"

Natalia, in reply, shoved Silhouette roughly to the floor. A sudden, very painful, punch to both girl's heads alerted them to the presence of the doctor. "I don't care about whatever issues you're having but don't attack my patient!" Ellie screamed at Silhouette. "And you! If you rip your new stitches out…!"

Silhouette stood, dusted herself off, and left.

Natalia stuck her tongue out at her first mate.

Ellie rolled her eyes at both of them.

"Oh! Captain onee-chan is awake!" A hauntingly familiar youthful voice shouted.

Natalia bowed her head, letting her loose hair fall over her eyes. "Ellie, if I look up, and that child is still on my ship…"

No response.

Natalia looked up and saw Ellie was nowhere to be seen. She stood, falling against the wall. It seemed her leg was still to weak. Luckily, there was a crutch leaning very near her.

Leaning against the crutch, she wobbled out on deck to see Sophia and Emily bowing deeply to her. The rest of the crew was peeking shakily out from the kitchen, not wanting to deal with Natalia's temper.

"Moushiwake gozaimasen." Both girls cried out.

Emily stood first, and her little sister followed shortly, hiding behind her sister's long, flowing dress skirt.

"We seem to have taken advantage of your unconscious state back at the island. We got your crew to allow us to ride to the next island with you, if that's okay." Emily explained. "We're incredibly sorry, and we've imposed upon you, I know, but if you'd tolerate us for a little longer…"

Natalia released a sigh and looked up at the two. "I suppose I have no other option, unless you're interested in swimming back to the other island."

Her crew sighed with relief and got a crutch pointed at them threateningly. "I'll deal with _you _later."

The crew immediately stiffened again.

"Anyways, apology accepted, yadda, yadda, yadda." Natalia replied, waving dismissively at them. She was about to go eat her breakfast peacefully and evacuate the infirmary so Jonathan and Ellie could have their stitches removed, when the child latched herself to Natalia's leg.

"Captain onee-chan is so nice!" She said.

Natalia laughed nervously and shook her leg, hinting for anyone to get the kid off of her. The others simply left her to figure it out for herself.

This was going to be a long, long trip.

oo~~O~~oo~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~oo~~O~~oo

Thanks for reading!

My only comment on the 'Mika Luggage' fiasco... I just couldn't see someone as secretive as Mika having a secret stash of clothes and belongings just waiting to be discovered. Besides, Mika's not supposed to be too in touch with the rules of society anyways. And... as for Natalia... she's not so good with kids. XD I enjoyed every minute of writing Sophia and Natalia's meeting. And as for the 'Hot and Cold' soup, I got bored and needed some little cutscene with Elaine in it. I thought she would feel left out without one. As far as I know, it does not exist. Sorry to disappoint. Oh! And the 'Tetsu Tsuta' and 'Tetsu Shoryo' attacks Elaine used above... somewhere... those mean 'Iron Vines' and 'Iron Bit.' XD Elaine's quite devious, no?

Eh... what else to put... what else to put... oh. I'm out of pink lemonade this week. Therefore, any errors are mostly likely due to my nocturnal behavior and lack of pink lemonade to keep me conscious. Anyway! Thanks again for reading and I'll give you a theoretical cookie if you review. Really. I will. Fresh out of my theoretical oven.

Bye! :D


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I'd like to throw it out there that Eiichiro Oda owns One Piece. Most of the characters in this story are original, but the setting is not. The Grand Line... North Blue... East Blue... West Blue... South Blue... All Blue... Skypeia... Luffy... Nami... Zoro... Sanji... All belong to Oda-sensei. As do all those cool characters and inventions I forgot to(was too lazy to) mention.**

~~~~~~~~~~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chapter Eleven: Bounty Hunters

~~~~~~~~~~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"So, you have no issue with the fact that we're pirates?" Jonathan asked.

Emily shook her head. "I used to deliver mail from pirates to family and vice versa. Pirates don't scare me."

Jonathan nodded. "You must've met some pretty nasty people."

"Oh, I have." Emily replied. "But I've also met good people!"

"Then why quit?" Silhouette asked, speaking up for the first time. She'd been sitting on the mysterious picnic table that seemed to appear and disappear by sheer force of will.

"Mom died." She replied, rather calmly. "I was suddenly in charge of taking care of my little sister, and I couldn't bring her into a life of crime. So, I quit. But I couldn't find a new job, and I had to steal from the townspeople. Then I got caught, and they found out about my relations to pirates, and I got sentenced to death."

"Then why are you going to this town?" Jonathan asked.

"Because the marines would arrest me on the other island, and because my father and grandparents live on this next island." Emily replied.

"Why didn't you go to them before?" Silhouette asked.

"We don't get along." Emily sighed. "At all."

"OKAY KID, THAT'S IT! OFF MY LEG BEFORE I THROW YOU OVERBOARD!" Natalia screamed. Sophia, in the past day and a half she'd been on the Pride, had decided Natalia was the bestest onee-chan ever, besides her _real_ one, of course.

Elaine restrained the captain as she actually started to limp towards the railing of the ship. "Natalia, stop! You don't mean it!"

"YES I DO! I CAN'T STAND KIDS!" Natalia yelled.

Sophia's eyes started watering and she released Natalia's leg. "Onee-chan…? You don't like me?"

"Oh God…" Natalia said. "Oh, oh please don't start crying again…" She reached out to the kid as she broke into full-on sobs. "I'm sorry, Sophia! I like you! I like you! Please don't cry!"

"Sophia-chan, why don't you help me make cookies?" Elaine asked.

Sophia jumped up, latched herself to Natalia's neck and straddled her chest, nodding furiously. Natalia, giving in to frustration, carried the child into the kitchen.

"Why don't you get along?" Silhouette asked, ignoring the scene playing out behind her.

Emily watched it, and once convinced her sister was safe, she continued as well. "We have different views, I guess. Normally, I could work passed it, but it seems that he's too stubborn to even try."

Silhouette nodded. "And what views don't you agree on?"

"Onee-chan has a very interesting past." Mika said, suddenly appearing, upside down, on the rope ladder up to the crows nest.

"Mika! Don't eavesdrop! And don't tangle yourself like that or you'll fall and break your neck."

Mika nodded and in one swift motion landed on her feet with a soft 'thud.' "I just wanted to tell you the island was coming up. I didn't mean to eavesdrop, I just can't help it!"

Emily smiled reassuringly at Mika, and Silhouette glared at her, as if to say, 'don't encourage her.'

"Oh! But we don't agree on the mentality of pirates." Emily said. "He thinks like the World Government. He thinks they're all the same and greedy, horrible people. I think that's a stereotype."

Natalia, splattered with cookie dough, silently came out of the kitchen. She came and sat beside Silhouette on the picnic table, and slammed her head into it. "I hate kids." She mumbled.

Silhouette laughed. "You're just saying that because you make them cry."

Natalia glared at Silhouette. Her first mate chuckled and looked back to Emily. "So tell us a little more about where we're going."

"Well, on this island there are two towns. The biggest one, Komori Town, and the smaller one, Komadori Town. My father lives in Komori." Emily replied. "But, of the citizens and their occupations, Komori is labeled as a 'Bounty Hunter Nest.'"

Natalia looked up, adding to the sharp looks the others gave her.

Natalia stood and walked over to Emily, then hit her over the head. "Baka! You were leading pirates to a nest of bounty hunters? WHAT KIND OF IDIOT ARE YOU?"

Ellie came out of the doctors office, neatening up her shirt. "Natalia, don't yell at our guest. Jonathan, come get your stitches pulled out."

"SHE WAS LEADING US TO A BOUNTY HUNTER NEST!" Natalia screamed. "I think I have a little bit of a right to yell at her!"

"I'm perfectly aware of the situation, but the bounty hunters won't attack us." Ellie said.

Silhouette perked at this news. "Why not?"

Ellie's eyes filled with a positively evil gleam as she looked to Emily. "Because we have a hostage."

Emily stiffened and backed up so she was right against the railing.

Silhouette, Ellie and Natalia all had the same evil gleam now, looking to their passenger, or rather, their 'hostage'.

"How will that work?" Jonathan asked. "Be reasonable here, we can't just hide behind her our whole visit."

"It takes four hours for the log pose to set." Ellie said. "We tie the girl to the mast…"

Emily whimpered.

"…and when the log pose is set, we throw her in the water and run!" Ellie continued. "You and Sophia can swim, right?"

Emily gulped.

"Wait, wait, wait…" Natalia finally said. "As much as I want to throw Sophia overboard, we offered her a ride to the island. Besides, I don't think it's very smart to piss off a bounty hunter."

Silhouette looked at her captain, shocked. _Sometimes this girl…_

"Maybe if we dock somewhere between the two islands and escort Emily and her sister into town…"

"Are you crazy?" Ellie asked. "Bounty hunters will recognize us instantly. We can't just walk in-"

"Sure we can." Natalia said, shrugging. "We've walked into marine bases before, what makes bounty hunters any different?"

Mika appeared out of nowhere tangled in the rope ladder again, this time holding a bounty poster. She pointed to where it said, 'Dead or Alive.' "Marines want pirates alive. Bounty hunters don't care. If you annoy them too much or give them too much trouble they'll try to kill you."

"You're speaking from experience aren't you?" Silhouette asked. "At least about the 'annoy them too much' part."

Mika stuck her tongue out and scurried back up to the crows nest. Ellie grabbed the bounty poster she'd dropped and motioned for Jonathan to follow her back into the infirmary.

Natalia shrugged. "Unless Emily-san feels safe enough walking there alone."

Emily bit her lip. "If you could escort us to Komadori, we could get a ride to Komori. Then, you won't get in trouble, and I won't end up dead."

"Why can't you just go through the woods? Or around the beach?" Silhouette asked, wincing as she heard Jonathan let out a long scream, then a crash, and Ellie's shout of, 'Take it like a man!'

"I can't." Emily said. "Komori might be a Bounty Hunters nest, but pirates who'd never been assigned bounties and managed to stray from the government's sight settled down in Komadori once their captains got captured. It's a very, very dangerous place with shady figures. Truthfully, I wouldn't want to go there at all, but I know a man who works there… and as long as I'm with you I'm sure it'll be okay."

"DAMMIT WOMAN THAT HURTS!" Jonathan screamed. There was another crash, then another, and another.

"SHOW SOME RESPECT!" Ellie yelled. "IF YOU DON'T WANT THAT TO GET INFECTED, GET OVER HERE AND SHUT UP!"

Silhouette, Natalia and Emily all began staring at the door to the infirmary. There was a prolonged silence, then Jonathan came out, shirtless and grumbling about Ellie's witch-like behavior.

"Um, anyways," Emily said, watching Ellie come sit beside Silhouette. "we should probably prepare to land soon."

Natalia nodded, and the crew set to work.

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

"Um, Sophia-chan, you probably shouldn't spill that much cookie dough, or we won't be able to make enough cookies." Elaine said, watching Sophia stir the dough like her life depended on it, making dough fly everywhere. Not only was it a huge waste, but at this rate Elaine would only have enough dough for one cookie.

"Oh! Gomen, cooking onee-chan!" Sophia said. She was splattered with cookie dough more than anything else, almost her full face was covered, except for a little ring around her mouth. "I'll slow down."

Before the child could go back to stirring, Elaine grabbed a clean dish rag and kneeled before her, cleaning her up. "I'm going to bring the others some refreshments, okay? When you're done stirring, start spooning the dough onto this, okay?" she asked, pointing to a cookie sheet. "One spoonful should make one cookie. Don't get carried away, okay?" The girl nodded, then continued her stirring.

Ignoring a sense of impending doom for those cookies, Elaine left with a tray of six lemonades.

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

On land, a little girl no older than eleven years old was sitting on her older brothers shoulders, looking out to sea with binoculars.

"Do you see anything, Kaida?" The brother asked. He was standing straight, his arms crossed over his chest. He wore a plain navy blue T-shirt with a black vest over it, and black colored blue jeans. His hair, ruffled from the wind, was jet black with a few navy blue streaks through it. Slung over his back was a leather case for his sword, what he liked to call the 'Death Blade.'

"Yes, onii-chan. They're coming." The young girl replied. She was wearing light blue capris with a navy blue halter top, with a skin tight black undershirt. Her blonde hair cascaded down her shoulders, and she had to constantly move her side bangs from her eyes.

Her brother, in one swift and fluent motion, lifted Kaida from his shoulders and set her on the ground, where she folded the binoculars and put them in her bag. Her blue eyes sparkled with amusement. Her brother only followed along with a sense of indifference.

"I wonder what kind of interesting things they'll do here." Kaida giggled.

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

"What is that?" Natalia asked, watching Elaine and Sophia carry out an impossibly large cookie sheet.

Elaine set it down on the table and rubbed the back of her head, "Well, Sophia insisted instead of a large batch of cookies we just make one cookie…"

True enough, the cookie took up the whole picnic table. Silhouette looked down at it, then up at Elaine. "Please tell me you don't expect us to finish this in one sitting."

"No, no. I was actually planning on splitting it in half and giving that to Emily-san and Sophia-chan." Elaine replied. "The rest we can… figure out what to do with… somehow."

Natalia nodded and tore off a little piece, testing it. After a minute she sighed with relief- at least it tasted good.

"How'd you cook this all the way through?" Jonathan asked, looking at the seemingly fully-cooked middle.

Elaine just shook her head in a dismissive manner.

"How'd you like it captain nee-chan?" Sophia said, latching onto Natalia's arm.

Natalia scooted away. "It's good."

"Yay! Yay! Nee-chan likes my cooking! Nee-chan likes my cooking!" Sophia chanted jumping up in down, hugging to Natalia's arm all the while.

Natalia looked helplessly to her first mate, hoping for some kind of help, or pest control.

Silhouette only laughed.

Natalia resolved to seek revenge later.

Once everyone had enjoyed a little piece of the mega-cookie, Elaine packed half of it up and gave it to Emily. It was then the pirates set out to deliver Emily and Sophia to whatever friend she had there, leaving Ellie behind to guard the ship.

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

It took almost half an hour to hike into Komadori Town, and when they got there, it wasn't much. Bars and shops of all sorts were complete wrecks. Some buildings even had roofs caving in. The paths were muddy from a recent rain, and people could be seen peeking suspiciously out of their homes and the businesses.

Natalia stood confident, hands on her hips and standing tall as she scanned the surrounding area. Silhouette crossed her arms across her chest, shuddering visibly. "This place is a dump. I'm surprised people live here at all."

"This place is home to thieves, ex-pirates and bandits that never made a name for themselves. They have very low work ethic." Emily replied.

"It stinks." Mika said, making a face.

"Keep your guard up. You never know what could happen in a place like this." Jonathan ordered, keeping a hand on his sword.

"Okay Emily, lead the way." Natalia ordered, unperturbed.

Emily nodded, stepping lightly through the town. She was on high guard, ready to duck behind Natalia should anything bad happen. Every step she continuously looked left to right, avoiding the gazes of the thugs peering out from the bars.

"So, where are we going?" Silhouette finally asked.

Emily gulped. "A friend of mine has a shop here. He repairs and sells swords."

Jonathan perked at this news. "Really? What kind?"

"Anything he gets his hands on." Emily replied.

"Ronin-chan is the best!" Sophia declared, sitting piggy-back on Emily's shoulders.

Jonathan threw a glance towards Mika, hoping she wasn't getting any ideas from the gesture. Mika met his gaze and stuck her tongue out, shifting into a full wolf form and trotting ahead.

"There!" Emily said, pointing to a shop with some water-barrels guarding the door. When she opened the door, her eyes widened.

Three men stood around Ronin. His eyes looked to Emily and widened. Blood streamed down his face, his body was crippled from the recent abuse. One last kick- to the throat that collapsed his windpipe, sent him to his death, in a sitting position against the wall.

"Ronin-chan?" Sophia whimpered.

The men turned to Emily next, and one with long blonde hair scoffed. "Well men, seems we have a witness."

"N-no!" Emily cried. She ran back to the pirates, followed by one thin man with a sword, and another with an axe, bulky with muscle.

Both weapons came at Emily at once, but Jonathan and Elaine stepped up, Jonathan catching the axe with his sword and forcing it back. Elaine drew her iron and formed it into a large pole, swinging it like a bat and knocking the sword off course.

When the blonde man exited, he smirked. "Oh my, it seems we've attracted a crowd. This makes things much more difficult. Take care of these _children,_ will you? I've got errands to run."

Jonathan broke contact with his opponents axe, and waited for another attack. "So, what do we do, sencho-san?"

"You two can handle these thugs right?" Natalia asked.

Jonathan and Elaine nodded.

"Then finish them off. Silhouette, take Emily and Sophia somewhere safe and don't let Mika get into trouble. I'll go after blondie." Natalia said. She darted between Elaine, Jonathan and their opponents and followed the man that was unmistakably the leader.

Jonathan blocked another blow and heard the sword give a little. The size of the axe and the weight the man was putting behind his attacks were just too much for the katana. Not to mention that this wasn't exactly the swords first outing. Blocking too much may cause irreparable damage.

Dodging a blow by sidestepping and put a nasty slash in the man's shoulder, Jonathan calculated ways to get rid of this nuisance. Unfortunately, without a second sword…

The man roared in rage and swung his axe again, trying to sweep it through Jonathan's ankles. Jonathan jumped over it and put another gash in the man's ankle. He glanced over at Elaine, then was forced to block a direct blow, which rattled his sword. He grit his teeth. If this man broke his sword, he'd use it's shattered remains to put him in his grave.

Jonathan dodged another attack and somehow wound up to the left of the man, in clear view of Ronin's shop's sign.

'Swords & More.' Duh.

Jonathan dodged another blow by using the side of the axe as a stepping stone to jump over Elaine and the swordsman. He landed just by the entrance of the store and looked behind him to see the axe's blade slam into the wall above him.

Elaine batted off another of the man's blows, letting a small cry escape her as she did so. "Please stop, sir!" Elaine pleaded.

"Don't worry, I'll make it quick" the swordsman assured. "A slit right across that pretty little throat of yours, how's that sound?"

Elaine wasn't worried about dying. Dying could be prevented. She didn't want to be written off as this man's cause of death.

The man's sword dug into Elaine's iron pole, and Elaine gave it a hard twist, disarming the man. As the sword flew past, Elaine caught it and pressed the tip to the man's throat. "Please don't struggle and I'll spare your life." Elaine said.

"As if I'd let a little girl like you best me!" The man kicked out and Elaine's pole smashed down on his kneecap, shattering it.

"I'm sorry!" Elaine cried out, dropping the sword. "I'm sorry, it was a reflex!"

The man fell unconscious from the pain, and Elaine bit her lip, looking around her, unsure of what to do. It was then she spotted Jonathan.

Jonathan blocked the axe with another sword he'd found, it was a cutlass, but it worked. While the cutlass distracted the axe, Jonathan slashed out with his katana, cutting a deep wound into the opponent's stomach. The man looked down, distracted by the wound, and Jonathan made quick work of slashing the man's throat.

With a sigh, he took a rag from his back pocket and wiped the blood from his katana, sheathed it, and left the cutlass in Ronin's store. It'd served it's purpose.

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

"Stop!" Natalia yelled.

They were at the end of town, the end of the island. In front of him, there was a cliff, and behind him an enraged redhead. The leader had nowhere to go.

"Why'd you kill him?" Natalia demanded. "I want to know why before I kill you for it."

"Oh, you're going to kill me, are you?" the man asked.

Natalia smirked. "You don't seem so tough without your lackeys. By now they're both probably dead. Don't expect backup."

"I don't need backup." The man insisted. "Not against a child like you."

Electricity started crackling, clinging to her fists up to her shoulders. "Tell me."

Fear sparked in the man's eyes. Against a regular sixteen year old, he would've easily taken them down. Against a sixteen year old with a Devil's Fruit… who knows. From his waistband, he pulled out a pistol and shakily aimed it at Natalia.

"I ate the Skokku Shokku no Mi. A logia type. If you shoot me, it won't matter." Natalia said. "It'll be as if you shot electricity." _Please don't call my bluff, please don't call my bluff, please don't call my bluff!_

The man hesitated.

"Shokku Shokku no Muchiutsu!" Natalia cried. Electricity sprung from her hand in a whip like manner, just as the man pulled the trigger. The bullet, knocked off course, grazed Natalia's shoulder. The gun was knocked from the man's hand.

Natalia grabbed her shoulder, eyes widening.

_Shit._

"You're in over your head, kid." The man said, recovering his gun. "You're a pirate, right?" He snickered. "You'll never make it."

Natalia glared up at the man.

He aimed between her eyes. "Now say goodnight."

Time seemed to slow down as the man pulled the trigger. Natalia couldn't even move, it seemed. Her gaze was fixed on the barrel of that gun.

The sound of a gunshot resounded through the woods, and through the town. Birds that had been nested throughout the trees took flight, filling the air with a panicked mass of black dots.

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

Ellie was up in the crows nest. She could see both towns from the cove they'd docked in, and as she scanned the area, her sight fell on a cliff that jutted out. On it, backed against the cliff, stood a man with a gun. A gun that was trained on Natalia, who was bleeding.

Thoughtlessly, Ellie pulled out her bow and made a quick shot. The blast of a gun sounded, and for a moment, Ellie was sure she'd missed. But then there was a shout of "Shokku Shokku no Shokei Suru!"

A large blast of light made Ellie close her eyes, but when she looked back, she saw a small figure fall off the cliff to feed the hungry waves of the sea. She pulled her binoculars up again and focused on Natalia. She pulled off her jacket, revealing the dumbest shirt she'd ever seen (it was red with large black letters that spelled out 'pirate'. Did the words 'Bounty Hunter Nest' mean nothing to her?), and pressed it to her wound. After she caught her breath, she pulled the arrow out of the ground and stared at it for a moment.

Ellie wished she could see her captain's expression.

Finally, Natalia waved back towards the ship, still holding the arrow, and she took it with her as she went back towards the town, disappearing in a curtain of trees.

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

"So now we have to deliver you to Komori Town?" Natalia asked, ignoring the doctor fussing over her shoulder.

"Um, if you wouldn't mind." Emily said, still holding Sophia.

"We wouldn't." Natalia beamed.

"Hey," Silhouette said, coming out of the kitchen. "Emily, Sophia, Elaine made you some hot chocolate in the kitchen."

Both girls nodded and left the doctor, the first mate and the captain alone.

"Natalia, don't you think those girls have caused enough trouble?" Silhouette said. "We can't go prancing into a Bounty Hunter's nest. As your shirt suggests, we are _pirates_. Known pirates. We'd be caught on sight!"

Natalia raised a silencing finger. "Not if we disguise ourselves."

Silhouette glared at her captain. She would've hit her, but she didn't know how Ellie would react, so she didn't. So far she'd avoided getting a first aid kit to the head, and it wasn't an appealing thought, so she refrained from violence. "And how exactly do you suppose we do that?"

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

"Where's it broken?" Elaine asked.

Jonathan lay his katana gently on the table, treating it as if any small contact from the outside world would shatter it. He pointed to the handle, "There's a blade digging deeper in the handle there, and it snapped."

Elaine nodded. "Kaisei Kaisei no Ibusu." She said. The handle melted down so there was nothing left of it but the blade Jonathan had described, which was cracked deeply, and the gripper that'd been wrapped around the handle. Elaine swept her hand over the liquid metal and piled it to the side, hardening more and more every second. She plucked the gripper up and threw it to Jonathan. "And now, Kaisei Kaisei no Naosu." The section of the blade mended itself, as if nothing had ever happened. The kanji for 'protection' melted away for a brief period, but resurfaced shortly.

In one final act, Elaine swept her hand over the pile of not-so-liquid metal that had once been the handle, and repeated, "Ibusu." The metal flowed back into place around the blade, and Elaine carefully replaced the gripper, then smiled up to Jonathan. "Good as new."

Jonathan's eyes lit up, and he took the familiar blade into his hands. Not a thing had changed about it. He slashed the air and grinned when he heard no disruptions in the smooth swipe. He sheathed it and turned back to Elaine. "Thank you, Elaine! I could never repay you. I doubt anyone else could do such a good job!"

Elaine smiled. "I doubt that. It was really no problem, Jonathan! Anytime!"

"Sugoi!" Sophia said. "Cook nee-chan is amazing!"

Elaine smiled. "Thank you, Sophia-chan."

Jonathan grinned.

Silhouette sighed, walking into the kitchen, followed by a freshly-bandaged Natalia.

"I swear, the anesthesia's getting to you." Silhouette said. "You're talking nonsense."

"It's a valid plan." Natalia insisted. "Besides, we can't just drop Emily off anywhere with anyone."

"You're right. But I'm saying maybe we should pick people like Jonathan and Mika to drop them off." Silhouette said.

"But that's boring! What would we do all day? Besides- I need supplies for railing! And Elaine probably needs food supplies, right?"

"No." Elaine replied. "I'm all good."

"Oh." Natalia said. She looked back to Silhouette, "Why Jonathan and Mika anyways, are you saying they're stronger than us?"

"Probably so, but, their bounty posters aren't all that… detailed." Silhouette explained. In ours you can see everything. Jonathan's is blocked by blood, and Mika can go in wolf form. They could probably pick up your precious railing too."

"No offense, Jonathan, but they can't tell driftwood from Afzelia Doussie!" Natalia complained.

"Natalia, I don't even know what that is." Silhouette said.

"Exactly!" Natalia said.

"Um, Natalia-san, what _is_ that?" Emily asked.

"It's a really, really nice type of wood." Natalia said. "But see? This is why I need to go! I just can't let amateurs do my shopping!"

"Then go back to Komadori and see if there's any there!" Silhouette yelled.

Natalia crossed her arms over her chest, tapping the bullet wound with her right index finger. "Hm, that actually sounds like a _great_ idea considering what happened last time. And besides, I wouldn't buy anything from that town. Everything there looks like it's sitting in a foot of grease."

The people in the room nodded, unable to disagree. Even Silhouette kind of agreed with it.

"Natalia, that wound is all the reason not for you to go!" Silhouette argued.

"She's right." Ellie said, walking through to refill her coffee cup. "It's not a bright idea to go there. For anyone. It'd be best just to walk her halfway then come back and leave."

"But…! But…!" Natalia finally groaned. "Listen, I can't stay cooped up in the ship all day tomorrow. If I do, then I'll go crazy the whole way here to the next island. And trust me- _none of you want that_."

"Natalia, let's discuss this tomorrow." Elaine said, sensing Silhouette was near her breaking point. "Everyone's tired today, let's just all get to bed now, okay?"

Natalia sighed. "Fine. Goodnight." She said, waving to them dismissively and going back to her room.

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

The next morning, Natalia won the argument. Mika was the only one who wanted to stay on the ship- something about wanting to catch up on her sleep. It was then that Natalia asked if since they'd given her one, if the girl had ever even slept in her bed. Mika just grinned and climbed up to the crow's nest.

"Okay, if we're actually going into a bounty hunter's nest, then here's the rules." Ellie said, "Do not look anyone in the eye. If someone starts a fight- Natalia- be the bigger person, claim responsibility even if it's not yours. Only if they begin fighting you physically, are you to fight. And then only self-defense."

Elaine gave a thumbs up. Jonathan and Natalia deflated a little, and Silhouette just rolled her eyes.

"Remember, our main objective is to get Sophia-chan and Emily-san to their father's house. Then we retreat."

"To the lumberyard." Natalia said, as if finishing Ellie's sentence. "Then we buy wood and go back to the ship and set sail."

"Fine, Natalia, fine." Ellie said. "Remember, no eye contact, defense only, take responsibility for anything."

"No fun, no fun." Natalia whined.

"Let's go." Silhouette said, pulling her captain by the ear.

This town was much, much, much cleaner than Komadori Town. The streets were paved with a kind of clean brick, colored a light purplish, reddish color. Trashcans lined the roads and not a single bit of litter was on the roads. There were two roads to choose from, one that would lead into a market place, and another that was lined with stores and shops. From where they stood, they could see men, women and children playing at the beach to their left. It was all surprisingly calm.

Still, Silhouette was glad that 'pirate' shirt of Natalia's had been trashed.

"So, where does your dad live, Emily-chan?" Natalia asked.

Emily bit her lip. "I forgot."

"WHAT?" Silhouette and Ellie shrieked, precisely at the same time as Natalia started to laugh.

"But I know where he works, it's okay!" Emily assured. "We just have to go into that tavern over there."

"I thought he was a bounty hunter?" Natalia asked.

Ellie hit her over the head. "Shut it! We may be able to get in and out alive if they think we don't know they're bounty hunters." She hissed the words 'bounty hunters' as if to prove her point.

Natalia nodded. "Well, let's go!" She said, walking towards the bar.

Silhouette sighed, "This was a really bad idea."

Ellie nodded. Then, she perked a little. "Hey, um, Silhouette… where's Elaine and Jonathan?"

Silhouette looked behind her, but sure enough, the two were gone. Sophia and Emily were already following Natalia, who was walking up to the bar, and the only ones left were Silhouette and Ellie.

Simultaneously, they shrugged. "If they get into trouble it's their own faults." Ellie said, starting to catch up with their captain.

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

"Are you sure it's okay to be in here?" Elaine whispered. The store had a total of four people in it; the pirates, the cashier, and a woman who was making steady conversation with the cashier.

"I don't really have a choice." Jonathan replied, not trying to keep his voice down at all. "If I keep fighting with just that one katana, I'm going to get heavily injured a lot, and so will the sword. It's for the best."

Elaine nodded with a sigh. "Why couldn't you have gone by yourself, though?" She lowered her voice. "No one would be able to recognize you by your bounty poster, but with me it's a dead giveaway."

"You worry too much." Jonathan said. He pulled a katana from the barrel, unsheathed it, and gave it one swipe. With a dissatisfied growl, Jonathan sheathed the sword and put it back in the barrel, looking for another.

"Well, under the circumstances…!" Elaine whimpered.

The lady that had been talking to the clerk left, and he looked to them now. "Finding everything you need?"

"No." Jonathan replied. He picked up another sword, slashed the air, sheathed it and returned it. "Are these the only katanas you have?" Jonathan asked, standing straight and looking the cashier in the eyes.

"There goes rule number one." Elaine murmured.

"No sir!" The man replied, rather proudly. "If you'll just step through that doorway there is a much larger supply of katanas just for customers like you."

'_Customers like you'. _Elaine thought, _Is that his own little way of saying he knows?_ Regardless, Jonathan and Elaine followed him into the back room, which was filled top to bottom in katanas, which were both in barrels and hung decoratively on the walls, and other interesting weapons, which took up most of the wall space.

Jonathan whistled and looked at Elaine, who in turn gave him a stern look. After losing whatever mind battle they'd been playing, she sighed. "Ten minutes and we have to find the others."

"Got it!" Jonathan said, already halfway across the room, testing a katana.

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

The air in the bar was tense. No one even spared a glance as the pirates entered. Two men stood in the center, one tall and young, the other older shorter. The younger man didn't look to be braced for attack at all. He stood straight, hands in his pockets. His dark blue eyes were trained on the other man with a glare. His black hair fell over his eyes a bit, and what really surprised Natalia was the navy blue streaks through it. He was wearing a navy blue T-shirt covered by an open, black vest. His jeans were colored darkly, and sheathed on his back was what seemed like a very, very big weapon.

"Onii-chan!" A little girl whined, running up and tugging on her brother's hand. "Onii-chan! Don't fight! Not here!"

Natalia frowned a little. When she'd said that last sentence, it was laced with meaning more than just childish worry.

The younger man nodded and lifted the little girl. He looked right into Natalia's eyes as he walked past, sending an army of chills down her back. _A bounty hunter…_ she realized. _He's much more frightening than I'd thought he'd be… than I thought any of them could be…_

"Snap out of it." Silhouette whispered.

Natalia nodded and walked right up to the bar tender. "Are you this girl's father?" She asked, pointing to Emily.

Ellie glared at Natalia's back. _What part of 'no eye contact'…?_

The man shook his head, but looked at the pair closer. "Emily? Emily and Sophia? Oh wow, you've grown quite a bit since I last saw you! How's your mother doing?"

Emily bowed her head, "She's dead, sir."

"Oh, I see." The man said. "If you're looking for your old man, he's at the house. You remember the way, right?"

"No sir." Emily replied.

"Ah, well, it's really easy to find, it's right beside the weaponry store." The bartender said. "Welcome back, kiddo. I'll be seeing more of you."

"Oh, hey." Natalia said, before he could turn back to do whatever bartenders do when they're not bartending. "What was that fight about earlier? It looked like it was about to get violent."

"It was." The bartender said. "We were actually pretty lucky that kid pulled her brother away. Every time those guys come here they break something."

Natalia nodded. "Oh."

"Yeah." He turned back, not really answering their question.

He watched out of the corner of his eyes as they left, sighing in relief. Electric Eel Natalia, captain of the Electric Devils. She didn't sound like a fun person to deal with. Turning back to his bar, he pulled out her bounty poster. There wasn't a doubt in his mind that was the girl. Her red hair pulled back in that ridiculous high ponytail, her brown eyes glinting. The picture must've been taken in the middle of a fight or something, because her whole left arm was ready to strike, electricity clinging to it. Three million belli. Not much compared to the other captains that came through here, Monkey D. Luffy included. She wouldn't have been much of a struggle to catch, but maybe that's what was so infuriating about those two.

Zen and Kaida, the 'Judgmental Bounty Hunters.' The only times they ever came through Komori Town, was when they were tracking pirates- and this time, their targets where the Electric Devils, for whatever reason. It was that smug-ass Zen that'd started the mess. He'd walked right into what was known among marines as a Bounty Hunter's Nest and declared that if any of them laid a hand on any of the Electric Devil's, they'd have to face his blade.

However infuriating it may be, the thought of facing Zen's 'Death Blade' was not appealing in the slightest. The bartender shook his head and placed the bounty poster back. Poor fools, they've got no idea how much trouble they're in.

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

"Elaine, it's been ten minutes." Jonathan said, leaning against the wall. His 'kid in a candy store' attitude had faded once he realized none of the swords in this shop were what he was looking for. Maybe he could convince Natalia to let him go back to Komadori town later…

"Don't rush me!" Elaine said. Once she'd started browsing the mass of different and unique weapons, it turned out that she was the one who didn't want to leave. In the back of her mind, she'd already decided to buy a weapon that'd spiked her interest.

A long silver chain spiked with a dangerous looking barb. It was nothing she couldn't imitate with her iron, but there was something that'd been bothering her.

"Sir, what's this called?" She asked, pointing to the weapon.

"Ah! You have quite the eye, miss! That is an incredibly capable weapon! It's brand new."

"How does it work?" Elaine asked.

"Allow me to show you." The man said. He gripped the handle in his right hand and twirled the chain with his left. Aiming for a target across the room, the man let the barb fly. The barb, apparently much sharper than it looked, tore into the bulls eye of the target. The clerk followed after it and pulled it loose, then looked to Elaine. "These things have tons of uses. I've known people who will lace them with poison, there are people who change the barb to something more barbaric so it won't let go once implanted in your enemy. It's a devastating, but effective weapon."

Elaine's eyes sparkled mischievously. "I'll take it."

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

When Emily and Sophia saw their dad's house, they were so excited, they ran off, shouting their goodbyes to the pirates.

Natalia frowned. "Well, that was a very grateful parting."

Elli smiled. "Come on, they're just excited."

"She wasn't this excited on the ship." Natalia said. "Anyways, we should probably get back to the ship or find Elaine and Jonathan or something…"

"Leaving so soon?" A male voice asked. Natalia turned to see an old man with a sword pointed at her throat. "And I wanted to get to know our pirate guests. How disappointing."

Natalia reached up and got a hold on the back of his blade. "Shokku Shokku no-"

"Stop right there, Electric Eel."

Natalia turned to see her crew was surrounded from the back. Ellie's bow was armed and aimed. Silhouette was bracing for attack.

"We know what you're planning, and if you hurt that man, your nakama here will die." Another man said.

The bounty hunter laughed nervously, but Natalia didn't release his blade. Instead she glared daggers at the man who'd threatened her crew.

_Okay, cue Jonathan and Elaine?_ Natalia tried, thinking optimistically.

Surprisingly enough, there was a splatter of blood to the back of the crowd, and a few strangled cries. Natalia grinned. "Duck!" She ordered. "Shokku Shokku no Nami!"

Ellie and Silhouette ducked, and a large wave of electricity took out the front row of men surrounding them, and the man who'd dared press his blade to Natalia's throat.

Apparently, there weren't that many, because with a few more discharges from Natalia, some arrows from Ellie and whatever Elaine and Jonathan were doing, they were gone. Unfortunately, what this revealed, was that 'Jonathan' and 'Elaine' were not Jonathan nor Elaine.

The man from his bar stood there, sheathing a large, blood covered blade. His dark blue eyes pierced into Natalia's, which were widening quickly, and he turned and walked away, waving goodbye with one lazy gesture.

"Natalia?" Silhouette said. "What…? What's up with him?"

Natalia shook her head slowly, heartbeat pounding in her ears. That man…

"Natalia! Silhouette! Ellie!" Elaine yelled, running to join the rest of the crew.

Unfortunately, both the cook and the swordsman were met with twin blows to the head from Silhouette and Ellie. "WHY'D YOU LEAVE, IDIOTS?"

The two began mumbling excuses, inaudible and all lies.

"Let's get back to the ship. We don't want their friends to come and see this." Natalia said.

Jonathan and Elaine saw the bloody mess for the first time. "What happened?" Both cried out.

"A fight." Ellie replied. "But I don't think we technically broke the rule. Let's go."

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

It'd been an hour since Adeline's Pride had shoved off from the island. All was quiet now. Silhouette was reading the newspaper, Ellie was making medicines, Jonathan was polishing his katana, Elaine was messing around in the kitchen and Mika, as usual, was nowhere to be found.

Natalia leaned against the railing, watching the water as it rushed by. That bounty hunter was really, really starting to worry her. Different suggestions kept winding their way into her mind. _Maybe I should go up to the crows nest to keep a lookout. Maybe I should ask Ellie about him. Maybe there's something in the newspaper…_

The thoughts wouldn't stop nagging at her. Would that man come back and break apart this crew? It certainly seemed as if he might…

Silhouette looked up from her newspaper to glance at her captain. She knew the encounter with the mysterious bounty hunter had gotten the girl's head in a twist, but what she saw almost made Silhouette's heart stop.

Natalia let out a strangled gasp and fell to the ground on her side, her bright orange hair trailing behind her.

oo~~O~~oo~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~oo~~O~~oo

Thanks for reading- and cue the cliffhanger! Mwa ha ha! XD In my opinion the beginning of this chapter wasn't so great. I caught a lot of mistakes in the middle which meant a late night with a distressful lack of pink lemonade (oh pink lemonade how I miss thee so). The ending was good though.

Also, this chapter comes with a healthy dose of bad news! Or, maybe it's unhealthy bad news? Hm. Anyways, and don't let this shock you, I am coming down with a serious, serious case of writer's block (cue dramatic theme music- ba ba baaaaa). It's probably due to the fact that the One Piece movies are boring me and I'm getting dangerously near the end of the subbed episodes. (I'm at Boa Hancock's part... I don't like her much. I've theoretically punched her about seven times now) So, if you have any suggestions on how to inspire me again, please don't keep them to yourselves! PLEASE! I'll love you forever! I also think my current state is due to the lack of creative flow. I'm just drawing a blank on what should happen next. Don't worry, I have a few more chapters written in advance I was saving just for this circumstance (...I have an overactive imagination, therefore any little thing can inspire me. However, usually inspiration leads to distraction and distraction leads to the death of a poor, unsuspecting, unfinished story.). So, if you've got any suggestions- ANY AT ALL- of what should happen next, please, please, please, please suggestify them! I can't promise I'll use them, and I can't promise they won't come out terribly, terribly distorted, but... still. I was really looking forward to the ending I have planned, but it's too soon to draw this to a close. Please help? (Gives reader puppy dog eyes)

Also, I realise this occurance gives you every right to be angry with me. As I've mentioned, this isn't exactly the first time this kind of thing has happened, but this is the first time i've really tried to fight it, so feel free to theoretically shoot me. Or punch, slap, bite, maul, scathe, decapitate... I don't know. What I'm getting at is a very sincere apology. So, to everyone reading this, I'm terribly, terribly sorry. Please, if there's anything you'd like to see in this story, now is the time to tell me! Thanks for reading and sorry for the extremely lengthy authors note! So, until next time, ja ne!

Bye!


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: I'd like to throw it out there that Eiichiro Oda owns One Piece. Most of the characters in this story are original, but the setting is not. The Grand Line... North Blue... East Blue... West Blue... South Blue... All Blue... Skypeia... Luffy... Nami... Zoro... Sanji... All belong to Oda-sensei. As do all those cool characters and inventions I forgot to(was too lazy to) mention.**

~~~~~~~~~~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chapter Twelve: The Moonlight Watchman

~~~~~~~~~~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Natalia blinked herself awake. Ellie was at her side, frantically going through some kind of mystical doctor ritual.

Sitting up, Natalia released a groan at the pain in her chest. "What happened?" She asked. Searching her memory, all she came up with was the rush of water beneath the Pride, then the cool wood meeting her body in a harsh embrace, then the clamping pain in her chest.

"You had a heat stroke. Probably from being in the sun all day without many refreshments." Ellie replied. "I can't believe I let this happen! I should've told you to take a rest… Hell I should've made sure everyone took a rest! So much activity in that weather isn't good for anyone… and you suffered because of it. I'm so sorry, Natalia."

Natalia reached up and hit Ellie over the head lightly. "Baka. It's not your fault."

Ellie smiled, then handed her some weirdo looking capsule. "Swallow this."

"What is it?" Natalia asked, holding it.

"Swallow it."

"What is it?"

"It's medicine, swallow it!"

"Does it taste nasty?"

"Natalia, just swallow the pill!"

From outside, there was a shout of, "Natalia's awake!" From Jonathan.

Immediately a stampede of footsteps rushed towards the infirmary and Ellie rushed to shut herself, and everyone else, out.

Natalia looked at the pill in her hand. It would be so easy just to toss it in the corner and leave it for Ellie to find later… but if Natalia had really just had a heat stroke, maybe it wasn't best to ignore medicines. She sighed, but dry-swallowed the luckily tasteless pill.

Natalia, her chest still aching dully, lay back. It was nice and cool in the infirmary. She kind of liked the idea of an off day too…

The door opened and Elaine came in, carrying a box. Someone tried to follow and Ellie yelled, "One at a time, dammit!"

"Hi, Natalia, how are you feeling?" Elaine asked.

"Good." Natalia replied, flashing two thumbs up as if to illustrate her point. "What's with the box?"

"Remember back at the island when Jonathan and I disappeared?" Elaine asked.

"Yep." Natalia replied.

"Well, we went to a weaponry store so Jonathan could buy a new sword, because he normally fights with two…"

"He does?" Natalia asked. "And I thought he was really good with one."

"He's better with two." Elaine replied. "But he looked and he couldn't find one he liked, so we were kind of browsing, and I got you this." With that said, Elaine handed Natalia the box.

Upon opening it, Natalia quizzically pulled out a simple black leather belt with a little hook, latch thing on it. "A belt? From a weaponry store?"

"Um, Natalia, look under the belt, please." Elaine said, a bead of sweat dripping down her forehead.

"Oh cool, what's this?" Natalia pulled out the large chain with a barb. Underneath it was a selection of three different types of barbs, all which looked extremely dangerous and like nothing that should be in the reach of Natalia.

"I didn't catch the name, but remember back at the circus when you borrowed my chain and did so well? I thought this would be a good weapon for you since it conducts electricity." Elaine smiled. "Like the tamer's whip."

"This looks like it can do way more damage than a simple whip." Natalia said, eyes gleaming.

"The belt is specially made so it can hold it, you just coil it up and slip it on the hook." Elaine said. "Do you like it?"

"I love it!" Natalia replied. "I can't wait to go try it out!"

"Don't strain yourself." Elaine said, pleadingly. "It can wait until tomorrow, right?"

Natalia smiled at Elaine, "Yeah. It can wait."

"Besides, you were already so good with my chain." Elaine replied. "You shouldn't need much more practice."

Natalia beamed.

"Well, Ellie said you should be able to come to dinner tonight, so I'll get to work on that. Anything in particular you want?"

Natalia shook her head. "Doesn't matter, you're cooking is always good, no matter what it is."

Elaine blushed a little.

"Oh, but how long was I sleeping?" Natalia asked.

"You slept through the night and through lunch." Elaine replied. "I'll bring you a snack later. Bye Natalia."

"See you later." Natalia replied, laying down. Once Elaine made it out the door, there was a pause, and Natalia said, "I guess Silhouette."

Sure enough, Silhouette was the next one to come in.

After crushing her captain in a hug, Silhouette went on to nag about her health and how lucky she was that Jonathan and Silhouette were there to watch her fall and alert Ellie and that it was really irresponsible not to warn them that something felt wrong and blah blah blah.

Thankfully, that visit ended quickly, and Jonathan entered, carrying his sword. They talked for a while about how she was feeling, how Natalia didn't know Jonathan fought with two swords, and about the odd bounty hunter on the last island. They talked for the longest time until Ellie shooed him out and took her place at her desk, allowing Mika to join her.

Mika, however, didn't exactly make for interesting conversation. She basically said she was glad Natalia was okay, then went on to say how much the infirmary stunk. Finally, after about three full minutes of that, Ellie shooed her away.

With visiting hours over, Natalia lay back and slept.

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

Dinner was relatively quiet. The only real conversation was when Ellie asked if Mika actually ever ate, seeing as she never actually showed up for meals… or for any traditional things for that matter.

No one pressed Natalia about anything. No one argued about her doing anything, and no one hit her over the head when she made a stupid remark. Overall, it was kind of depressing.

Once dinner was finished, everyone went out to the deck. Since everything had cooled down, Ellie said it'd be fine for Natalia to stay on deck as long as she sat down at the mystery picnic table and didn't exert herself. Which, according to Ellie, was any kind of movement.

Jonathan was training, something he did every now and then when he had nothing better to do, practicing different strikes with his still-sheathed sword. Silhouette was reading the newspaper up in the crows nest, every now and then scanning the horizon for offending ships or islands. Elaine, as usual, was doing the dishes. Mika was nowhere to be seen, and Ellie was sitting across from Natalia, grinding up some weirdo plants. Natalia was seriously contemplating if it mattered at all that she'd escaped the infirmary.

"Ship!" Silhouette called. Natalia, ignoring Ellie's cry of, 'Hey!' immediately darted up to the side of the ship and looked. A pirate ship, with an unfamiliar Jolly Roger, was approaching from behind.

"Who is it?" Natalia asked, looking to Ellie once she'd got her bow and arrows ready.

"I don't recognize the Jolly Roger." Ellie replied.

"There's a lot of movement on board!" Silhouette yelled. "I think they're…" there was a pause, then she finished the sentence quickly. "they're throwing someone overboard!"

"Jonathan!" Natalia said. "If the person can't swim, I want you to go save them, got it?"

"Got it." Jonathan replied, taking his shirt off and kicking off his shoes and socks.

The other vessel passed and waited so they were side to side with the Pride, then threw what looked like a man overboard. The pirates, whooping in hollering in some sort of celebration, yelled out, "You'd better save him, ladies, he's a Devil Fruit user!"

"Jonathan!" Natalia commanded.

Jonathan nodded, and dived in the freezing water. There was a moment of silence aboard the Pride. The other, unidentified pirates, laughed and sped ahead.

"Do you think he's alright?" Natalia asked.

"Well, if the water's cold enough," Ellie replied, "Jonathan's body could seize up and he could sink as well. In that case, maybe we should look for a new swordsman."

A shadow appeared as soon as she'd finished her sentence, and grew larger until Jonathan appeared, taking a large gulp of air with some unconscious man in his arms.

Jonathan made it aboard with the man, and Ellie began to give him CPR. After pumping his chest thirty times, she was about to have to supply him with air when she realized the man was puckering his lips. Instead of the kiss he was looking for, Ellie slammed her fist into his stomach, making him spit out his load of sea water.

Sitting up sputtering and choking, Ellie walked away, fuming. "You're welcome." She spat, taking her seat at the picnic table and glaring daggers at him.

The man stood up, and immediately bowed deeply to Jonathan. "You saved me! Thank you very much, sir. Are you the captain of this lovely vessel?"

"That would be me, actually." Natalia replied. "Nice to mee-"

The man bowed and kissed her hand, "Pleased to meet your acquaintance, miss."

"Uh, hi." Natalia replied, looking at him puzzled.

Ellie continued her glare.

"Who the heck are you?" Silhouette asked, stepping down from the rope ladder.

The mysterious man knelt before Silhouette at once, kissing her hand. "I, my dear, am Ryder Dailey. People call me the 'Moonlight Watchman.'"

"Uh huh." Silhouette replied, pulling her hand away. "Right. And what exactly did you get thrown overboard for?"

"That, my dear, was the unfortunate sight of me being fired." Ryder replied. "It seems they no longer need my assistance, but if you're in need, I would gladly apply for a job upon this lovely vessel."

"We don't need you." Ellie said.

Natalia, ignoring the doctor, asked, "What do you do? You know we're pirates too, right?"

"Yes!" Ryder replied. "In fact, I only work for pirates. To answer your question, I am a weapons specialist! If you give me a gun, I can shoot it. Give me a sword, I can bring down an army. Give me a-"

"Liar." Silhouette replied. "Someone that useful wouldn't have gotten thrown off a ship."

"You caught me, miss." Ryder replied, straightening his jacket. "However, I am of use."

"How?" Natalia asked, a bit frustrated.

"Well, you see, no one likes the night watch. It's boring. Nothing to do all night long, but! I can relieve that duty. You see, it is my job. I am a professional night watchman!" Ryder replied proudly.

"That I believe." Silhouette said, "You seem the type for such a useless job."

"Useless?" Ryder repeated. "That hurts."

"Oh, I'm so sorry." Silhouette replied, sarcastically.

"Do you charge?" Natalia asked.

Jonathan narrowed his eyes at the captain. "You can't be seriously considering hiring this guy."

Natalia shrugged, looking back to the interesting character before her.

"No, ma'am, I do not." Ryder replied. "I'm more like a temporary crewmate. I move from ship to ship as they find me to their displeasure."

"Then go find the next ship." Silhouette and Ellie said, simultaneously.

Natalia took a seat on her railing, "So, why do they find you to their displeasure?"

"They've found me obnoxious." Ryder replied. "And, it seems, they don't like my schedule."

"Your schedule?" Natalia and Jonathan repeated.

"You see, by nature, I am nocturnal."

"Then how are you out now?" Natalia asked. She pointed to the sun, which was more than halfway set. "It's not night yet."

Ryder pointed to the sky in the opposite direction. The moon had already risen.

"Um, okay." Natalia replied. "Explain?"

"I ate the Gekko Gekko no Mi, a logia type that only functions fully in the moonlight. As long as there is moonlight, I can come out." Ryder replied. "May I sit?"

"Yeah." Natalia replied, at the exact same time as Silhouette and Ellie replied, "No."

Ryder nodded gratefully to the captain, sitting against the mast.

"Why can't you come out when there's no moonlight?" Natalia asked.

Ryder sighed, "The moonlight is my fuel. My energy source, you could say." He sighed, "Without it, I cannot move, or wake up."

"That sucks." Natalia said frowning. "So, is that all to your Devil Fruit power? No energy without moonlight?"

"No, it also allows me to become moonlight. Say, if I were get shot my body would take the form of moonlight and the bullet would pass right through me."

"Can we test that out?" Ellie asked, loading her bow.

Natalia waved her off and looked back to Ryder. "You sound like an interesting guy. You can stay."

Silhouette and Ellie deflated, hoping they could throw him overboard.

"Onii-chan!" Mika called out.

Jonathan instinctively braced.

Mika jumped from the crawlspace between the ceiling of the cabins and the roof into Ryder's lap, in her half form. "Onii-chan! You're going to stay here?"

"You know him?" Most of the crew yelled.

Mika only nodded happily.

"How?" Jonathan asked. "Do you know everybody on Earth already?"

Mika cocked her head to the side. "No. Why would I want to?"

"You seem to." Jonathan mumbled.

"Ah! Mika-chan! You're stowing away again?" Ryder asked, pushing the half wolf off his lap.

Mika shook her head, contradicting Natalia's mumble of, 'She may as well be.'

"Ah! You challenged Mika to a game then?" Ryder assumed.

Natalia glared at him. "She's only got one island to go, and I'm winning the next game!"

"Good luck… ah, it seems I didn't catch your name, miss?" Ryder asked.

"I'm Natalia. Captain of the Electric Devil Pirates. Welcome aboard."

"Ah! Electric Eel Natalia, I've heard of you!"

Natalia instantly slumped out of her proud position and started pouting about her bounty name all over again.

"Was it something I said…?" Ryder asked. Mika nodded, watching Natalia with interest.

"I'm Jonathan." The swordsman said, offering Ryder a handshake. He was smiling as if shouting, 'Finally! Another male crewmate!'

"The two crying over the picnic table are Silhouette and Ellie and Elaine, our chef, is in the kitchen." Natalia finished off. "And you've met Mika."

He nodded. "Well, I'm pleased to meet all of you, and if you've anymore questions-"

"I've got one." Silhouette said, sobering up a little. "Why do you only work for pirates?"

Ryder's face dropped and he sighed a little. "That's a rather long story."

"We've got time. I don't see an island coming up anytime soon, so please explain." Silhouette replied, curtly.

Ryder smiled. "Okay, anything for you, my dear."

"Don't call me that."

"I used to work for the government." Ryder explained. "Have you ever heard of CP9?"

Ellie gasped. "CP9? No way! I've heard terrible things… about…"

"I know. Terrible, terrible things." Ryder sighed. "They tried to kill me when I tried to quit, but because I'm a logia type Devil Fruit user it wasn't so easy. For years I wondered on my own, unable to find work because most shops closed after sundown. I was alone… it was hard to find food or even the most basic of necessities. So, finally, I gave up a life on land and moved to pirate ships. This gave the marines a chance to label me a pirate and send bounty posters of me all over the world. I was labeled, 'Moonlight Watchman,' Ryder Dailey. So, I lived with pirates, alerting them to ships at night when they slept. Most of the time, if I really liked the crew, I'd check to see if they were a threat. Others I'd just wake them up regardless." Ryder sighed. "It's not my preferred lifestyle, but I've met good people. Like Mika-chan."

"You call Mika a good person?" Silhouette asked.

Mika stuck her tongue out.

"So if you had to go through all that trouble, why not just stay with the CP9? It couldn't have been that horrible." Silhouette said.

"No." Both Ryder and Ellie said at the same time.

"CP9 is a secret government-run organization that is used to silence civilians of things they don't want getting out. I've heard rumors about it's agents, but the one I've heard about the most is Rob Lucci." Ellie said.

"Ah yes." Ryder said. "Lucci is the man who tried to kill me."

"Onii-chan has an interesting past!" Mika said, beaming.

Silhouette sighed. "Do you think everyone has an interesting past?"

Mika, still smiling, nodded. "Everyone's different, that's why I like stowing away. To learn people's past."

"Aren't you still looking for that crew?" Ryder asked.

Mika's grin faded, and she looked back to Ryder, then yawned. "I'm tired. I'm going to bed. Night!" With that said, she scampered back to the cabins.

"Oh wow, she's actually planning on using the bed for once." Natalia said. "Shocker."

"Anyways, Ryder, it's really brave of you to run away from the CP9." Ellie said. "Aren't you afraid they're looking for you?"

"Oh they are." Ryder replied. "I just don't care."

"Won't that eventually come back to haunt us?" Natalia said.

Ryder shrugged. "If you don't fire me before then."

Elaine came out of the kitchen, stretching and yawning. Before she could even process the fact there was an extra person on deck, Ryder was knelt before her, her hand in his, lips pressed against it.

Elaine jumped back a bit and pointed to him, then looked to her nakama- "Who's he?"

"Our new watchman." Silhouette said, scowling.

"Um, Natalia…?" Elaine asked.

Ryder bowed to her once more and smiled, "I'm sorry to intrude, miss, but my name is Ryder Dailey. I'm terribly sorry for startling you."

"Oh, um, that's okay." Elaine said, her blush apparent. "I'm Elaine. I'm the cook."

"And I'm certain you're a wonderful cook!" Ryder declared.

"Are you hungry?" Elaine asked. "I just put the leftovers away, but if you want some…"

"That would be wonderful, Elaine." Ryder said. "I can hardly wait."

Once Elaine and Ryder left to the kitchen, and the door shut behind them, Silhouette glared at Natalia. "What have you done?"

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

The next morning, once the moon had already gone down, Silhouette came to get Ryder from the crow's nest. Unfortunately, since he'd lost energy with the moon, he was in a dead sleep, slumped against the side of the crow's nest, a snot bubble sticking out of his nose.

Kneeling in front of him, Silhouette poked his shoulder. "Hey. Hey wake up."

Ryder didn't even flinch.

Silhouette smirked. "I like him better during the day." She poked him again. "I'm not going to have to get Jonathan to throw you down on deck, am I? Evacuate the crow's nest."

Nothing. No response at all.

"Oh wow, he really can't wake up in the day." Silhouette said. "Fine, I'm getting Jonathan."

"Wait." Ryder groaned. Weakly, he pushed himself into a sitting position, shielding his eyes from the sun. "I… I can make it my… I can make it myself."

Silhouette poked his shoulder and he fell back with a weak groan. "Yeah, good luck with that. I've seen potatoes with more energy than you."

Ryder laughed, and it became evident he was sweating way more than any normal human should… especially in the crisp, cool morning air.

"Um, Ryder? Are you okay?" Silhouette asked. "Don't move, I'll go get Ellie-"

"No, I'm fine. It's just the sunlight. I just need to get out of it." Ryder insisted. He pushed himself up weakly and stood, holding the crow's nest for support.

"Ryder, sit down and don't move until I come back. And if you do, you'll regret it." Silhouette gave him the worst glare he'd received yet. "I'll make sure of it."

For the moments Silhouette was absent, Ryder let himself slide back against the railing. His heart beat was accelerated, he was hyperventilating and he felt as if he were on fire. Usually, he was extremely careful to get to shade or a sun-proofed room before the moon set, but something about almost drowning had drained him, and he'd fallen asleep before his set evacuation time.

Ryder had never been more relieved than he was when Silhouette returned with Jonathan following behind.

"Oh. Hey, is he okay?"

There was a loud thump, and Ryder opened his eyes to draw the conclusion Silhouette had hit Jonathan over the head. Ryder stood again, weakly, and Silhouette hit him lightly over his head. "Don't strain yourself. Jonathan carry him down to the deck, will you?"

"What?" Both Ryder and Jonathan yelped.

Silhouette hit both males over the head- this time not sparing Ryder. "Just swallow your pride and get on with it, will you?"

Jonathan scowled, but picked Ryder up bridal style.

"WHAT? No! Put me down! Put me down! I'd rather die! Leave me here! No! No! Stop it!" Ryder yelled, as Jonathan began carrying him down the ladder. "Oh, hey, you're strong. PUT ME DOWN!"

"Shut up." Jonathan said, darkly. "I'm not enjoying this either, okay?"

"Carry him to his room, I'll get Ellie." Silhouette ordered, rushing ahead.

Ryder, heaving from struggling too much, finally calmed down. The thin layer of sweat that coated his sweat was thickening every second, and he still felt like he was on fire. When the boys reached Ryder's sun-proofed room, Jonathan let Ryder walk to his bed and lay down himself. With that, he was left alone.

Until Ellie and Silhouette returned of course. Silhouette put a wet dish rag on his forehead and Ellie forced water down his throat. Once Ryder's breathing calmed, he found himself drifting off to sleep again. He could still feel and hear the girls rushing around him until he finally faded into his subconscious.

oo~~O~~oo~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~oo~~O~~oo

Hope you enjoyed this belated chapter update. Well, what can I say? Writer's block is a *itch. I've decided, however, to continue with the story and simply skip the chapter I'm having so much trouble on. After all, I don't even think I'm halfway through this story! Please give me some constructive criticisms and reviews to urge to me to write! It shouldn't take too much, but hey, I'll update faster that way.

As for the cliffhanger and late update, feel free to theoretically slap me. No excuse. *Sigh* I've been in extensive writer's block and I'm so happy to start writing this again. So, I bid you adieu, and I appologize for the last author note. I will finish this story if it kills me! . Well, ciao!

Bye!


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: I'd like to throw it out there that Eiichiro Oda owns One Piece. Most of the characters in this story are original, but the setting is not. The Grand Line... North Blue... East Blue... West Blue... South Blue... All Blue... Skypeia... Luffy... Nami... Zoro... Sanji... All belong to Oda-sensei. As do all those cool characters and inventions I forgot to(was too lazy to) mention.**

~~~~~~~~~~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chapter Thirteen: The Tests of Zen and Kaida

~~~~~~~~~~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Onii-chan, they're here." Kaida said. The girl jumped down from the limb of the tree she'd been on landing perfectly on her feet, and looked to her brother. "Are you sure it's okay to continue the tests? The captain saw you at the last island."

Zen gave an apathetic grunt. "It'll be fine. I'll stay out of the judgment this time. It's your call, Kaida."

"I see." Kaida replied. "Well, in that case, I'll get started. You'll be here when I'm back, right, onii-chan?"

Zen nodded, pulling the cap he was wearing down so it covered his eyes. He already knew the Electric Devils could pass Kaida's judgment. They'd already passed his own.

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

"Ah, finally!" Silhouette said, excitedly. It'd been two days straight of sailing with a bored and recovering Natalia, and a Ryder that only appeared at night. Still, when the man was up, the crew often stayed with him an hour or so, socializing. "Finally a summer island with big crowds! I can't wait, look how nice the beach is!"

"Silhouette, why are you wearing a bathing suit?" Jonathan asked.

Sure enough, Silhouette was dressed in a black two-piece with little skulls over it, covered with a men's dress shirt that was neither Ryder's nor Jonathan's.

"You're not actually considering attempting to swim, are you?" Jonathan asked. "Because if you intentionally drown yourself, I'm not helping you."

Silhouette frowned. "I'm not stupid, idiot. I'm guarding the ship today."

"In that?" Jonathan asked.

Silhouette nodded proudly. "Today I'm going to get a tan."

Jonathan nodded slowly. "Okay then. Good luck with that."

"What? It's not like you have better plans." Silhouette said.

"Actually, today Elaine and I are going to go around looking at all the weaponry stores, trying to find a suitable katana." Jonathan said, "Then tomorrow I'm helping Elaine get food supplies."

"See? I told you. You've already got a sword, and that seems to be working for you, so why would you need another?" Silhouette asked.

Jonathan frowned. Apparently, Jonathan's need for a second sword to Silhouette was about as mysterious as Silhouette's need for a tan to Jonathan. "I use two swords."

Silhouette rolled her eyes, muttering, 'Still sounds like a waste of money.'

Natalia stepped out happily, dressed and ready to go on this new island. It seemed in the few days she'd had it, Natalia had completely embraced her new weapon. She was wearing tan shorts that fell mid-thigh and her black leather belt with the chain latched onto it. Her hair was the same as always, the same high ponytail that fanned out like a train behind her. Her shirt was a simple red tank top with a black star on it. Her boots came up past her ankles, making her look like someone looking to go hiking. She put her hands on her hips and grinned. "Are we there yet, Silhouette?"

"Not yet, captain." Silhouette replied.

Natalia nodded, then looked over Silhouette's outfit. "Why are you wearing a bathing suit?"

Before Silhouette could reply, Elaine came out of the kitchen with a tray of lemonade for everyone. Her outfit was simple, but pretty. A dress that faded from pink at the bottom up to white. Instead of stuffing her snow-colored hair in her usual beret, she let it fall down to her elbows, pushed back on one side with a hair barrette with a flower glued on. Her feet were covered with simple white sandals. She smiled as she placed the lemonade on the picnic table and took a seat.

"While I'm thinking about it, where's Mika?" Silhouette asked.

Natalia shrugged.

"Isn't this her last island?" Elaine asked. "You know, the whole three islands agreement?"

Natalia nodded and sighed. "I wonder what game she'll have us playing next."

Jonathan cocked an eyebrow. "You don't think she'll just join the crew?"

"It's Mika Aida, heck no I don't think she'll join the crew!" Natalia replied.

Elaine smiled, "She does seem to like her freedom."

"I don't mind." Natalia said. "As long as she wins it fair and square, I don't mind."

"That's kind of you." Silhouette said.

"But that doesn't matter because I'm definitely winning this time!" Natalia announced, cocky.

Mika appeared then, hanging upside down on the ladder to the crow's nest again. Her outfit was a simple purple skin-tight shirt and some blue jean capris that hung to her thighs tightly. After the shopping incident, no one had let Mika near any loose clothing.

They eyed Mika suspiciously, expecting some sort of challenge, or dialogue from the girl. Instead, they received a blank stare.

"Stop hanging upside down like that." Ellie ordered, making her grand entrance. As usual, her black hair was shoved back in a yellow headband, and above that tied in a ponytail. She wore a loose yellow tank top with a black skirt that hung right at her knees, and simple black flip flops. "The blood will drain to your head and you'll lose more brain cells than you could afford."

Mika stuck her tongue out, but flipped herself over, landing with a thud on the ground and simply sitting there.

"So, Mika, you know, unless you join the crew, you can't freeload anymore." Natalia said.

"Unless I beat you at another game." Mika said, smirking. "So, what'll it be this time, captain-chan?"

Natalia shrugged. "You're the game expert. You choose."

"Aw, but then it's no fun, captain-chan!" Mika said.

Natalia scowled. "I don't know. Ask someone else."

"Onee-chan?" Mika asked, looking to Ellie.

Ellie attempted to hit her over the head, but Mika dodged. "I'm not your onee-chan."

Mika pouted. "Ellie-chan?"

"I'm not getting involved in this. I'll be referee but that's where I draw the line." Ellie replied.

Mika pouted again. "Onee-chan?" She asked, looking to Elaine.

Elaine bit her lip, thinking. Then she brightened a little, "How about Capture the Flag? They used to play that a lot in my hometown."

"Okay!" Mika said.

She was about to continue when Silhouette cleared her throat. "We have four days for the log pose to set. Days one and two are to be spent shopping and taking care of the supplies. Day three we'll rest and that night we can play. We'll leave the fourth day, with or without Mika, got it?"

"Okay." The crew replied.

"Good. Then decide your terms and rules for the game then." Ellie said. "For now, we need to worry about docking."

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

Zen woke up about two hours after Kaida had left. The girl was probably stationed somewhere in town, her first test prepared. Looking out over the docks he could see the pirate's vessel docked comfortably three ships down from their own. The dock was large and wasn't the type that made pirates dock somewhere else. Actually, in the docks alone were three big-shot pirate flags alone. He ignored those, however, and looked back to the Electric Devil's.

Using his binoculars, he saw four of the pirates get off, waving goodbye to the navigator and first mate, 'Deadly Breeze' Silhouette. 'Electric Eel' Natalia was among them, standing next to 'Honeybee' Ellie, 'Blacksmith' Elaine and the 'Emerald Dragon' himself, Jonathan G. Hartley. The 'Pirate Spy' Mika Aida was nowhere to be seen, however, and it wasn't too long until he realized why.

"Onii-chan!" The pirate spy yelled, Zen's only warning before the half-wolf jumped out of the tree onto his lap. "Whatchya doing? Hunting pirates? I won't tell, promise. Who're you hunting?"

"You." Zen replied, calmly. He moved his hands so they rested behind his neck and stretched a little. "Tell me what you know about the Electric Devils."

"Onii-chan, that's cheating!" Mika replied simply. "I can't give you that information, and you know it. Besides," she stuck her tongue out, "then you'd be like those marines you hate so much."

Zen shrugged. "It's human nature to be curious. Anyways, what's your bet? Think they'll pass Kaida's judgment?"

"Of course!" Mika said.

Zen smiled warmly, flicking one of Mika's wolf ears. "So, you think they're your 'dream crew?'"

Mika looked away, her smile disappearing. She shrugged.

Zen sighed. "You haven't changed a bit, Mika. Always so willing to find out sensitive information about others, but refusing to tell people a bit about yourself."

Mika frowned. "I should get back to the others." She replied simply, changing into a full wolf and trotting downhill to the docks.

Zen watched her go and looked back out towards the horizon. "Mika Aida." He chuckled and shook his head. "Some people you just can't figure out."

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

"Here's one." Jonathan announced, turning into a shop that said 'Katanas For All.'

Elaine nodded and followed him inside, looking around. Like the backroom of that other store, katanas filled barrels and lined the walls. It was still amazing that there were this many katanas in the world. Actually, she'd expected cutlasses to outnumber them greatly, but standing in stores like this, it was hard to believe.

Elaine walked up to the counter, looking at a book that was closed on the counter. She flipped it open and came to a picture of a katana with a white gripper and a white sheath and a few words under it. "Wadō Ichimonji." She read. She cocked an eyebrow and flipped the page. "Shigure." The sword had an emerald gripper, green diamond colored patterns halfway up the sheath, then the sheath was normal with three gold circles down it. Elaine flipped the page again, "Shuusui." This one was different. It showed the unsheathed and sheathed pictures of the sword. The sword was black with red waves up until the tip, and a purplish color under it. It looked longer than the others, and seemed a lot more interesting.

"Looking for a meitou, Miss Blacksmith?" A disembodied male voice asked.

Elaine looked up sharply and stepped back a few steps shaking her head. "No sir, sorry sir, I was just…"

"That's alright, don't be alarmed." The shopkeeper replied. "That book is there to interest people. I've got to say, though, I was hoping to meet you one day. I've heard about that Devil Fruit of yours- quiet a useful gift for a swordsman."

Jonathan looked up from testing another random katana and placed it back with yet another dissatisfied grunt. Maybe there just wasn't a katana in this world fit for him…

"Oh, I'm not a swordsman, sir." Elaine said. "In fact, I don't think I have any kind of defined fighting skills."

"Except blocking." Jonathan teased lightly. "You're truly a grade-A blocker."

Elaine rolled her eyes at him and smiled back at the shopkeeper. "So, what are meitou?"

"Named blades." The shopkeeper replied. "Even though they're not the only sword with names, these are the famous ones. The strongest ones."

"Oh, wow." Elaine said, watching as the man flipped the book open again. "This sword," he said, indicating to Wadō Ichimonji, "Is currently in the hands of Roronoa Zoro- another pirate I wouldn't mind meeting. He's said to have master Santoryuu- a style that uses three swords."

"Three swords?" Elaine repeated. "How does he hold them all?"

The shop keeper shrugged. "This next one, Shigure, is in the hands of an ensign working under Captain Smoker. I haven't heard much about her, though."

"What about this one? Elaine asked, turning to the one that really caught her interest- "Shuusui."

"Oh." The shopkeeper shook his head as if it was the saddest thing ever. "It's gone. No one knows where it went. The last person who held this sword was a samurai by the name of Ryuuma. Such a tragedy, I'd love to see this blade just once in my lifetime."

Elaine nodded her agreement.

Jonathan sighed. "Nope. It's not here."

"Was there a certain sword you were looking for, sir?" The shopkeeper asked.

Jonathan shook his head. "There isn't a single sword here that fits."

The shopkeeper nodded as if he understood exactly what Jonathan meant. "I see, I see. 'The sword chooses the swordsman' after all. There's another store up the street you should check out. He's got a smaller selection, but maybe something will catch your interest."

"Thank you." Jonathan said.

"Goodbye, Miss Blacksmith." The shopkeeper said, smiling.

"Ja ne!" Elaine said, grinning.

The old shopkeeper shut his book, still smiling to himself. It always made him happy to see a young person come in with a genuine interest in swords. It always made it less disappointing when they left without buying anything.

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

Natalia and Ellie walked through the market place. It was peaceful- even for Natalia. The scents and sounds of a classic market place made Natalia feel at home in a way. Sometimes, Ellie would pull Natalia over to a place that sold herbs and spices to see what she could pick out that was good for healing purposes.

Finally, they got some decent directions from a lady that told them the lumberyard was up ahead and next to it an apothecary. The girls exchanged a smile and proceeded in that direction.

That is, until a loud yelp alerted Ellie and half the market place that a child with an ice cream cone had run into Natalia's legs, splattering the icy delight all over the pirate captain's bare legs.

Natalia slowly and mechanically bent forward, looking like she was about to strangle the kid, and the whole market place held their breaths.

"COLD!" Natalia screamed, wiping desperately at her legs to get the ice cream off. She jumped up and down, as if maybe that would knock some of it off. Finally, once that was done she released a sigh of relief, though her shins were painted red and brown from a mixture of cold skin and chocolate ice cream.

The market place held it's breath again when Natalia spotted the child on the ground, eyes watering.

Natalia's eyes widened. "Y-you're not going to cry are you…? It's just a little ice cream…"

The child's eyes grew larger, tears brimming.

"Oh no." Natalia said. "Oh please no, don't… don't cry…"

Regardless of Natalia's attempts to sooth the child, her tears grew until finally they started to fall.

"Is this kid's mom around? Her dad? Is her dad here? Brother? Sister? Someone? Help!" Natalia yelped.

The child burst into sobs and Natalia seemingly melted a bit, "Please stop crying, I'll buy you more ice cream, just please stop."

The girl looked up, tears brimming in her eyes. "Where's my onii-chan?"

"Uh… you're brother?" Natalia repeated. She slowly started to shrug, but when tears started forming in her eyes again, Natalia started motioning wildly, "It's okay! Don't cry! I'll find him for you, just relax!" Natalia scooped the girl into her arms and turned to Ellie, who was slowly shaking her head skeptically. "What?"

"Sencho-chan, you're pathetic." She replied, walking past her.

Natalia scowled, but followed, scanning the crowd and picking out anyone that had kind of a family resemblance to the child.

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

Silhouette found a relaxing position on deck, using her men's dress shirt as a pillow and laying on her back. Truthfully, Silhouette didn't really care for getting a tan at all, but the aspect of taking a relaxing nap while warmed by the sun was too appealing to pass up. And with nothing important to do in town, this was the perfect opportunity.

With Natalia, Ellie, Elaine, Jonathan and Mika gone, it seemed perfectly quiet, with only the sounds of waves lapping up against the Pride. As for guarding the ship, that was pretty much taken care of. All the doors were locked and Silhouette had the keys hidden in her bathing suit top and she had no worries about someone getting in there without her knowledge. With those peaceful thoughts to comfort her, Silhouette drifted into a peaceful slumber.

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

Elaine had to admit she was fascinated in the meitou, and she would love the chance to see Shuusui in real life to identify the materials that made it tick, but she couldn't stand the store Jonathan had picked next.

It was small, with only three barrels of katana near the side. Otherwise, it sold some clothing items and other uninspiring things. That, and the thick musk that fogged the place repelled Elaine, who'd claimed she needed to pick up a few things herself and she'd be back later.

Now, Elaine walked the near-empty streets of… wherever she was. All she knew was most of the things around her were residences, and no one wanted to be inside on such a nice day.

In fact, only one other man seemed to be out.

His white muscle shirt was visible through his open Hawaiian shirt, white with navy blue flowers. His eyes were covered with thickly tinted sunglasses and his face was apathetic. He wore cutoff blue jean shorts and flip flops, finished with a navy blue cap that shadowed his eyes so the sun didn't disturb them. When he passed Elaine, he grabbed her wrist and she panicked a little, hand coming to a rest on her bag.

He took a piece of paper out of his pocket and stuffed it into Elaine's hand. "You're 'Blacksmith' Elaine, right?"

Hesitantly, the frightened girl nodded, inconspicuously undoing the clasp on her bag.

"That paper has the designs for a sword. A katana, actually. I want you to make it and sell it to my old man. He owns that store, 'Katanas For All.' He never wants to admit my designs are decent, and this will really show him how great they are. It'd be a real help." The man said. He appeared to be in his mid-twenties. He spoke faster than necessary, and with urgency. Never once did his eyes stray to meet hers.

"Um, okay." Elaine said.

"You'll have to buy your own materials, but you can keep any profit you make off the sword. Thank you." With that, the man released Elaine's arm and rushed past, soon blending in with the marketplace crowd.

Elaine looked down at the folded piece of paper and opened it, letting a small smile spread across her face.

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

Jonathan sighed, having left yet another weaponry store without a katana. He decided it was time to call it quits and look at the next island when the man at the last shop asked, "Have you checked 'Katanas For All? They have the largest selection of katanas on this island."

Unfortunately, he couldn't leave without Elaine. And Elaine was nowhere to be found. Just his luck.

So, in hopes of finding her, Jonathan walked through the market place, in the meantime finding Natalia carrying a blonde kid who looked extremely close to tears. At this, he stopped.

"Um, Natalia? What's with the kid?" Jonathan asked.

Natalia glared at him. "She's lost and looking for her brother and I'm helping her."

"She started crying?" Jonathan guessed.

Natalia gave a single nod.

Jonathan bent so he was eye level with the kid. "Hey, sweetie, what's your name?"

The girl's once tear filled eyes immediately hardened, and she pushed Jonathan away. "Get away from me." She ordered.

Natalia laughed. "Hey! You're even worse with kids than I am!"

"Don't go there, you make them cry!" Jonathan said.

"Hey!" Natalia said, pouting, "I try not to!"

"Well, it doesn't work." Jonathan snapped back.

Both pirates looked to the girl as she started laughing. They exchanged a look, then looked back at the kid.

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

Elaine bought the necessary items for constructing the sword and brought them back to the ship, ready to lock herself in her room for hours, copying the design as perfectly as she could get it.

No matter how she looked at it, it was a crazy thing to do. Not crazy in the usual this-could-get-you-killed way, but crazy in the there's-not-a-single-good-reason-to-be-doing-this way. However, with her newfound interest in swords, Elaine decided- just this once- why not make one herself?

Once Elaine made her way into the cabins- it took a prolonged time because Silhouette, who was asleep on her stomach on deck, had locked the door and put the keys in her bra. Luckily, they'd fallen out somehow, and Elaine was easily able to steal the keys, then replace them as if nothing had happened.

In her room, Elaine locked herself in and tacked the designs to the wall above her desk, ready to set off to work.

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

Jonathan couldn't explain what odd force had pulled him into the search for the nameless child's nameless and position-less brother. For about the fifth time that evening, Natalia and Jonathan sat the girl down on a bench, knelt in front of her, asking, "Now, where was the last place you saw your onii-chan?"

Finally, there was a breakthrough. The child pointed to the crowd, which was parting at the sight of a very angry-looking bounty hunter.

Natalia's eyes widened, recognizing the man from the other island.

It was almost instinctive that Jonathan drew his sword to block the strike of the bounty hunter's very large, very unique blade. "Kaida, you've gotten yourself into trouble again."

"Onii-chan. You're late." The girl said. Her younger appearance melted away, her once watery eyes now cold and serious.

Natalia gapped, "You….!"

Kaida stood and joined her brother. "Allow me to introduce ourselves. My name is Kaida, and this is my brother, Zen. We're bounty hunters, but we won't take in just any bounty heads."

Jonathan stood pushing Zen's blade back. Natalia unhooked her chain, kind of hoping she'd get to use it for the first time.

"We like to judge the pirates we hunt." Kaida continued. "But your judgment isn't over. Onii-chan?"

On cue, Zen assumed a fighting stance, ready to take Jonathan out.

"What the Hell kind of judgment is this?" Jonathan yelped, blocking an attack. He caught a good look at Zen's blade.

The material was black, but the sharpened blade was a dark, dark blue. The blade was thick, about four of Jonathan's blade side to side on the widest part. The thick blade curved into a hook, but instead of the blade having a back, there was a jagged place there, like someone had torn a chunk out of it. The function was obvious. Zen would turn the blade, deal a blow. An unsuspecting swordsman would block, putting his sword in the jagged part. Zen would turn the blade and disarm the swordsman, leaving him open to attack.

Jonathan couldn't let Zen have the opportunity to use that.

Unfortunately, Zen seemed to have the exact same attack in mind. Instead of blocking like he could've, he dodged, at the same time tackling Natalia out of the way so now harm would come to her.

Zen grinned a feral, wolf-like grin.

Speaking of wolves…

"Onii-chan, whatchya doing?" That obnoxious voice asked, hinting at a warning.

"Judging." Zen replied straightening. He lowered his blade and looked to the rooftops of the stores, where Mika Aida was laying on her stomach, a fluffy wolf tail wagging slowly behind her.

"They haven't passed yet?" Mika asked.

"MIKA?" Natalia and Jonathan shrieked.

"See? This is why I figure you've went ahead and met every person in the world." Jonathan said. "How do you know them."

"They judged me." Mika said, giving a thumbs up. "I passed."

Natalia rolled her eyes. "You…! I don't even know, anymore, Mika. Really. …Just… how?"

"I've been following you. I got bored at the ship, and onii-chan was busy, so I found you and Kaida-chan." Mika admitted.

Zen, Kaida, Natalia and Jonathan all just stared blankly at the wolf. It was Kaida who finally spoke up.

"How troublesome." The girl said. She tugged on her brother's arm. "Onii-chan. Let's go. The judgment will have to wait."

Zen nodded and sheathed his monster of a sword. Before completely following his little sister, he paused, looking back at the swordsman. "You did well, protecting your captain." His blue eyes flashed up at Mika. "Don't ruin the judgment, Aida."

"Wouldn't dream of it." Mika replied, her voice radiating happiness.

Zen turned and left, disappearing into the crowd of the market.

Natalia and Jonathan sat down on the bench, too stunned to speak for several minutes.

"Do you think that was the test?" Jonathan asked.

"Hm?" Natalia asked, looking to the swordsman.

Jonathan looked up at Mika, who peeked back curiously. "To protect the captain."

Mika giggled, stood, and ran off again, going wherever it was Mika liked to run off to.

Natalia stood. "Well, I don't know, but sitting here isn't getting us anywhere. While you're here you might as well help me get my railing. We're probably the last ones back to the ship."

Jonathan nodded and followed his captain.

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

"Onii-chan, how was our day?" Kaida asked. It was the normal everyday dinner conversation, made awkward by the fact that Kaida and Zen were both always apathetic. Usually, it faded when they were alone, but something had been nagging at Zen's mind, causing him to retract a little, hardly looking his sister in the eye.

"Fine." Zen replied, taking another bite of the ramen in front of him.

"You want them to pass the judgment, don't you, onii-chan." Kaida asked, seeing through his silence again.

Sometimes it scared Zen how his sister could read him.

"Yes." Zen replied.

Kaida nodded. "We'll see, tomorrow."

Zen nodded, and with that, their conversation ended.

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

There was an awkward silence in the kitchen with the Electric Devils as well. It seemed Elaine was busy working on some 'super secret project' in her room, which was suspicious enough. Then they saw her come out with what looked suspiciously like a solidified fleck of silver on her cheek. Jonathan pointed it out and Elaine blinked, then rushed off yelling at Jonathan to watch the food.

Elaine, however, was extremely happy to be making her sword. She officially had all the materials she needed- which were extremely expensive- and was enjoying every minute of crafting her masterpiece. While she'd worked, she wondered what kind of person would buy it. Would it end up on the wall, or in a barrel? The sheath was the worst part of all the sword-building process. She took a cheaper material for it, but she didn't know how to put the two halves together. When someone finally reminded her what time it was, she'd locked her door so no one would mess with the still-hardening metals within, then scurried off to the kitchen to make dinner.

Then she'd learned of the fleck of silver on her cheek. Not that it was terribly embarrassing, just that Elaine didn't want to waste any of the expensive materials she'd bought. So quickly, she melted the silver on her cheek and weaved it into the sword. Standing there, she couldn't help but admire the design.

The blade was long and strong, but it didn't allow much flexibility. At the base of the blade, right where the kanji on Jonathan's sword was, there was an emerald dragon- Elaine's idea, actually. The emerald was real, and the dragon could be seen on both sides of the blade. It was beautiful, and it didn't effect the already heavy katana. There was a ring around the parts where blade met handle. The design on the top looked like scales- once again, Elaine's idea. The gripper was made of a soft material and had a double diamond pattern showing the gold of the handle through the emerald material. The sheath, still incomplete, but the overall outside appearance had been finished. A white ivory-colored base, with a painted on dragon, winding around the sheath, starting from the handle. She grinned, the man's directions had told her to design the 'pretty appearance stuff' and so she had. She ran her hand along the flat of the blade and smiled.

"The Emerald Dragon." She whispered, smiling. It was the most beautiful katana she'd ever seen, and she'd made it!

"ELAINE!" Jonathan yelled from the kitchen.

Elaine immediately covered the sword and ran out of her room, appearing in the doorway quicker than imaginable.

"When's it going to be done?" Jonathan asked.

Elaine laughed, but pulled it out. "It _is_ done."

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

The next day, Elaine went out earlier than the others. She had about an hour before breakfast was to begin, and she wanted to sell the newly-finished sword early.

She found the owner of 'Katanas For All' and waved him down.

"Oh? Miss Blacksmith, I'm afraid we're not open just yet."

Elaine, panting from running the whole way, simply held out her masterpiece, which she'd covered in a quilt to keep the early morning dew from getting on it.

The man took the thing cautiously and curiously, and unwrapped the quilt.

Looking at the beauty of the sheath itself, the shopkeeper looked back to Elaine. "Oh my. Come inside then."

Laying the katana on the counter, the shopkeeper traced the dragon on the sheath. His breath catching in his throat, he pulled the blade out and gasped. "Miss Blacksmith, this is amazing! Where did you find such a treasure?"

Elaine grinned. "I ran into… a guy on the street and he gave me the designs for it, telling me to be creative with it. So, I did."

The man smiled. "Bravo, bravo, I take it this wasn't your first time making a sword?"

Elaine shook her head. "I've repaired them before, but never made one from scratch. I only used the best materials I found."

Tracing the emerald dragon on the blade, the man smiled, "Ten thousand belli."

"Ten thousand belli?" Elaine repeated. It'd cost much, much less than ten thousand belli to construct. Maybe about two hundred belli, actually.

The shopkeeper nodded. "For such a sturdy, beautifully constructed blade from a woman nearing fame like yourself, I'll take it for ten thousand belli."

"Wow." Elaine replied.

The man pulled out a camera, "I'll have to take a few pictures. I'm sure it won't last long in this shop, someone will probably buy it soon."

Elaine nodded, watching as the man took several snapshots of the blade. Once he finished, he placed it on a hook on the wall behind him, for everyone to see. Elaine grinned, and looked back to the man, who was counting out the money.

It would be sad to leave her first blade in a store where she'd never see it again, but a sense of pride filled her when she thought someone would buy that. Someone could become great with that.

And she'd made it.

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

After breakfast, Elaine, Jonathan and Natalia went out again. Elaine and Jonathan were to spend the day running around ordering food supplies. Natalia simply had to instruct the men where to take her railing supplies. They could only hope Zen and Kaida wouldn't try another of their tests.

Which, surprisingly, they didn't. They allowed the pirates to have a normal day with no violence, no tests, and no judgment. By sundown, everything had been said and done.

Except…

Jonathan walked the streets alone again. He'd heard there was one more shop that sold katanas. Just one more shop. However, it was supposed to be on the lesser side of town. The part no one wanted him to go to, apparently. However, he was faced with no other option.

Finally, after winding up in front of the same store about the thirty fourth time, Jonathan went inside, ready to ask for directions. It came as a bit of a shock to him when he entered the 'Katanas For All' store, and met the gaze of a calm and expectant shopkeeper.

"Ah, Mr. Hartley. You're here to pick up your order, then?" The man said.

Jonathan opened his mouth to ask what he meant when the shopkeeper held up his hand, smiling. "Don't worry, your friend swung by and paid for it this morning. I told the sword's creator this morning that it wouldn't last long and I was right." The shopkeeper chuckled, turning and carefully picking a sword of the hook behind him and placing it on the counter. "Go on then! It's a beautiful piece of work."

Jonathan stepped forward, watching the sword all the while. "What did this friend look like? Did she leave her name?"

"Oh no, it wasn't a woman, Mr. Hartley." The shopkeeper smiled. "But he requested for me not to say much, so I take it this was a surprise?"

Jonathan nodded, picking up the sword. It was heavier, longer than his other. But yet…

He unsheathed it, slashing the air and relishing the sharp sound of metal slicing through air. He grinned. "It's perfect. Exactly what I was looking for." He looked up, "But are you sure this is for me? It's not another Hartley's?"

"Unless another Hartley is the 'Emerald Dragon' as well." The shopkeeper smiled, and pointed to the sword. "By the way, the creator named that blade. It's the 'Emerald Dragon.'"

Jonathan, taking notice of the emerald dragon engraved in the metals of the blade, grinned again. "I can tell." Thinking it over again, he looked up and asked, "Who made it? He must've been a great blacksmith."

"That, my friend, I cannot tell." The shopkeeper shrugged, and left to his backroom, leaving Jonathan with a paid-for katana. He hooked it to his hip next to the other and smiled.

With a sword shrouded in mystery, Jonathan set off towards the Pride.

oo~~O~~oo~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~oo~~O~~oo

Thanks for reading!

I'm really happy to be writing this story again! Can you wait for the events to come? I most certainly cannot. (Mwa ha ha!) Review me your guesses! Who's the man who designed the sword? When will Jonathan find out about Elaine's secretive activities? Why do I feel like the narrator of a Soap Opera right now? Tune in next time to find out! (XD)

Bye~!


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: I'd like to throw it out there that Eiichiro Oda owns One Piece. Most of the characters in this story are original, but the setting is not. The Grand Line... North Blue... East Blue... West Blue... South Blue... All Blue... Skypeia... Luffy... Nami... Zoro... Sanji... All belong to Oda-sensei. As do all those cool characters and inventions I forgot to(was too lazy to) mention.**

~~~~~~~~~~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chapter Fourteen: Capture the Flag and Loose a Nakama

~~~~~~~~~~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_oo~~O~~oo~~~~Flashback~~~~oo~~O~~oo_

It'd been the night after Kaida's tests. The bounty hunters Zen and his little sister Kaida were planning to continue testing the Electric Devil Pirates. Their small ship, docked three ships down from Adeline's Pride, was meant only for three or four people. There were two cabins, each spacious enough for two people, but each only housing one.

On a normal night Kaida would go to bed an hour or so after dinner, leaving Zen to clean his sword or scout out a pirate's ship. But tonight, with his beloved black blade gleaming in the corner, freshly cleaned, Zen simply lay back in bed, listening to the sounds of the night.

The waves lapped gently against the small vessel, crickets chirped, somewhere in town there was a mournful melody being played on a violin. Zen scoffed, assuming that's where Mika was at the moment, spying on and listening to the violinist.

Zen let his eyes close, relaxing gradually. As he gave into sleep, a new danger was brewing outside.

The next morning, when Zen awakened, he'd expected to see Kaida already up, planning for the tests. However, she wasn't there. Zen checked the cabins, thinking about how rare it was for his little sister to sleep in. Instead, he saw the door to Kaida's cabin open, her room a complete mess. In the bed, there was a simple card.

There was no note, but a simple signature. Signed the Stone Temple Pirates.

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

Upon finding that card, Zen hardly spared time for dressing and a meal any bigger than a slice of bread. He was wearing a wrinkled pair of dark blue jeans, one pant leg still rolled up a little for whatever reasons. His sword was strapped on his back, easily accessible if needed, and he was wearing only a simple muscle shirt. People parted before him, sensing the dangerous aura coming off the man in waves. His eyes were bloodshot and narrowed angrily.

Basically, Zen looked like a demon looking for a kill.

When Zen saw a poor sap with a Jolly Roger tattoo, he grabbed his collar and yanked him out of his chair to dangle dangerously in midair, making his nakama gasp and pull their weapons. Zen pulled his own, pressing the blade against the mans throat hard enough to make a small, painful incision. God forbid the poor sap swallow.

"Did you kidnap Kaida?" Zen demanded.

"R-r-r-r-relax, man, I don't even know a Kaida!" The man said. "N-n-n-no need to get so worked up."

"If you're lying to me, I swear I'll end it right here." Zen snarled. "Now I'll ask one more time. Where. Is. Kaida?"

"I don't know!" The man yelled.

His nakama backed him up, calling, "We don't know! We didn't take her!"

Zen dropped the fool, retracting his blade before it decapitated him. Using the curved hook part, Zen lifted the man's chin so he was looking into Zen's furious eyes. "If I find out you're lying to me, you'll be the first to die. Then them. Then the rest of your crew. Got it?"

The man gulped and nodded furiously, then crawled away from the enraged bounty hunter.

Zen slammed his sword into the sheath and stormed into the marketplace crowd. At the moment, the Electric Devils were the farthest thing from his mind. Judgment could wait until he had his baby sister back.

_oo~~O~~oo~~~~Present Time~~~~oo~~O~~oo_

"I'm pretty surprised we didn't have more of a judgment yesterday." Natalia said. "I was expecting that Zen guy to bring out some new, creepy test."

Ellie scoffed. "Judgmental bounty hunters. They probably thinking they're better than the other bounty hunters because they decide rather or not the pirates are good before taking them in. What a load of crap."

"Anyways! On to more important matters." Mika announced. "We have to make the rules for the game tonight."

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot." Natalia said. "Well, what are the rules."

Mika straightened, sitting cross-legged on the picnic table (which by now, the crew just decided to let remain a mystery) and cleared her throat. "Rule number one. No violence. If your team hurts my team-"

"Oh, so your stealing part of the crew again." Natalia said. "Great."

"It's only fun with teams. And it's no fun for you to have a team if I don't." Mika said, pouting.

"Fine, fine." Natalia said. "Continue."

"If your team hurts my team, my team can hurt your team back. Breaking this rule will not end the game." Mika grinned. "We'll be playing in the woods tonight, so Ryder onii-chan can play. Everywhere in the wood is free territory, but you cannot leave the woods without a flag. And then you have to go straight to Ellie with the flag."

"In case of injury," Ellie added. "Each team will consist of three players. One person will guard the flag. The other two have to stay together- they'll be in the most danger. Stick with your partner so the other can bring the injured to me, okay?"

"The ship is base." Mika added. "Ellie is the referee, so the first person to bring her the flag wins! Natalia and I are team captains."

"Duh." Silhouette replied.

"So! Let's pick our teams, okay?" Mika chirped happily.

"Mika, are you playing for another three islands?" Elaine asked.

Mika nodded happily.

"Silhouette's on my team." Natalia said.

"I want Jonathan!" Mika said, leaping on said swordsman's back.

Natalia nodded. "I'll take Ryder."

Silhouette groaned.

"Then I get Elaine!" Mika chirped. "And Ellie's referee, so that makes everyone! Yay!"

The others rolled their eyes, and Elaine left to start on lunch. Today was a peaceful day aboard the Pride.

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

Zen stormed aboard another pirate ship. He hadn't recognized the pirate name and he didn't know their Jolly Roger, so he was pretty much forced to charge in blindly. When a horde of angry pirates rushed him, Zen pulled his blade and took the front lines out with two expertly thrown attacks.

"Stop!" The captain yelled. "Who are you?"

"Zen." The man replied. "I'm looking for my sister. Are you the Stone Temple Pirates?"

The captain cocked an eyebrow. "You're looking for them? Do you have a death wish? Just forget your sister. Live. That's all I can tell you."

At an instant, Zen was at the man's throat, one hand on the back of his head, the other steadily holding the blade to the captain's throat. "I'm not playing games here. My sister is eleven years old. I can't let some dumbass pirates steal her right from under my nose. I don't care what I have to do. I'm getting her back. If you have a will to live, you'll tell me right. now. what you know about the Stone Temple Pirates."

"Okay, okay. Calm down. They left a few hours ago. Now that you mention it, they had a little girl with them. She looked pretty rough. No promises about rather or not she's alive." The captain pulled himself away from Zen's blade as he relaxed a little, his gaze still digging at the captain. "The Stone Temple Pirates used to be the Shark Fang Pirates until some hotshot bounty hunters caught and turned in their captain. The first mate took over and swore revenge against them, that's all I know about their history. Now please get off my ship."

Zen sheathed his sword, clenching his fists. The Shark Fang Pirates. He should've known. They'd been Kaida and Zen's first capture. Now they were going to exact their revenge.

And Zen knew how this would play out.

Kaida would be tied up on deck somewhere, probably on the mast, malnourished. Near death. When Zen stepped onboard he'd be attacked from every angle by angry pirates. He'd take them out easily, thinking they haven't improved much. Then, an angry roar will split the air- "STOP!" Zen will look towards it and see a captain holding a dagger or some other sort of small knife at his sister. Then, he'd see a splatter of blood, as either the knife was stabbed into her heart or her throat was slashed.

Blind with rage, Zen would kill every single man on the ship, then find a way to sink it, taking only one battered corpse off the ship. Kaida's.

That was something he just couldn't allow to happen.

Zen paced about the town. He knew the pirates weren't far. They were looking for a chase, taking their time. Zen needed a plan. A good plan. A plan that involved Kaida's safe exit.

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

"Ready?" Ellie asked, clicking the safety off the pistol she'd acquired three islands back. "Set?" Natalia, Silhouette, Mika and Jonathan braced, ready to run into the woods. "Go!" Ellie fired the gunshot then slumped back into the crows nest, watching with disinterest as the two teams shot into the woods- Mika in the lead.

"Silhouette, we're not going to loose this time!" Natalia said.

"Whatever you say, Natalia." Silhouette replied, slowing to a walk. "Where do you think they hid their flag?"

Natalia pointed up. "In the canopy. Somewhere easily seen, but too high to reach."

"You understand with guards on the flags, someone will eventually resort to using force." Silhouette said. "Most likely you, too."

Natalia rolled her eyes. "I wouldn't fight Elaine."

Silhouette shrugged, and the pair continued down the path.

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

By night, Zen was a wreck. Since he'd found out about the Stone Temple Pirates, he couldn't relax. He paced on the deck of his small vessel. He needed a plan. He needed help, but there was no one in this town willing to help him. There was no way he could save Kaida on his own this time.

There was no way he could save Kaida at all, it seemed.

"_Just forget your sister. Live. That's all I can tell you."_

Zen took his coffee mug and slammed it against the wall, screaming his aggravation.

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

Mika leapt branch to branch, making sure Jonathan could see a purple streak to follow.

"Mika! Where are we going?" Jonathan yelled. "You're not just running in a random direction, are you?"

"Of course not!" Mika replied with a giggle. "We're going to visit onii-chan!"

"Onii-chan?" Jonathan said. "Ryder?"

"I'm part wolf." Mika replied. "I've got his scent."

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

"They're mocking us." Silhouette said. The flag was placed right in front of their faces, halfway covered in iron, hung from a branch. Overall, it was impossible to remove the flag.

Natalia tried anyway.

Tugging at the free fabric she let out a whine. "Can't we cut it? Does it count if we bring half the flag?"

"I don't think so." Elaine replied from her seat. She was sitting on the tree branch that supported the flag, holding the rest of her iron in a shorter-than-usual metal pole.

"Elaine?" Both girls asked.

"How'd you get up there?" Silhouette asked.

Elaine frowned, shrugging. "Mika…"

"Enough said." The two replied.

"How do we get the flag?" Natalia asked, pointing to the current object of her frustrations.

Elaine shrugged again. "Mika didn't say, but I don't think you can cut it. Mika also told me not to undo the iron."

"So what do we do?" Silhouette cried. "It doesn't look like she's left us any way to win."

Natalia smirked. "I think… I know…" She pulled her chain and started swinging it.

"I told you you'd be the first you resort to violence." Silhouette sighed.

Natalia winked. "It's not violence."

In one swift motion, Natalia released the chain, throwing it towards the branch. As she'd hoped, it had stabbed through the iron wire, releasing the flag.

Silhouette blinked, watching Natalia recoil her chain with a smirk.

"And now?" Silhouette asked, dumbfounded.

"Grab it and run!" Natalia ordered. "See you later, Elaine!"

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

Mika jumped to the ground in front of Ryder. Natalia's team had simply tied their flag to a tree. The real challenge was Ryder who was standing in front of said tree with an ivory colored spear in his hands.

Mika blinked. "Hey, onii-chan, you're not going to use violence, are you?"

"Gomen, Mika-chan." Ryder replied. "Captains orders."

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

"Bulu bulu bulu bulu."

Natalia and Silhouette stopped in their tracks, looking back to Elaine.

Out of a watch she'd never worn before appeared a baby Den Den Mushi. "Moshi Moshi." Elaine answered. "Uh huh. Uh huh. Yes. I see. Okay then!" With that, she hung up, leaping from the tree branch. "Gomen nasai, Natalia, but Mika just called saying violence is now permitted." She smiled apologetically, "Kaisei Kaisei no Ibusu!" The metal melted off the flag and into Elaine's pole which lengthened considerably.

"Elaine?" Both girls shrieked.

"Gomen nasai!"

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

Jonathan blocked another blow of Ryder's spear as Mika hung up the baby Den Den Mushi she'd bought. "Okay, Jonathan! I'll leave this to you then!" she snatched the flag and ran, leaving Jonathan scrambling to hold off Ryder.

"Hydra Gekko hold!" Ryder yelled. Immediately, the night sky seemed to dim, leaving one constellation lit. The Hydra snaked out of the sky and wrapped itself around Mika, trapping her.

"Onii-chan! No fair!" Mika yelled.

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

Elaine couldn't bring herself to hurt Natalia or Silhouette, so she went to the next best thing- restraining them. She used all of her iron to wrap around them loose enough to hold them, but not hurt them. "Gomen, Natalia." Elaine repeated. "Gomen, Silhouette."

The flag, once again held with wire, was hanging tauntingly above their heads. Natalia frowned. She'd never hated Capture the Flag more in her life.

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

Mika escaped kicking the Hydra in the face and shattering the moonlight into millions of tiny, non-solidified shards. She then shot up into the canopy and ran towards the ship.

Ellie was standing there, clicking the safety on, then off, on, then off. On, off, on, off, on, off.

When she saw Mika wave a flag at her she clicked the safety off and aimed for the moon. One loud gunshot signaled the end of the game.

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

Mika sat on the railing, waiting for the others to arrive. Ryder and Jonathan emerged first, then Natalia, Silhouette and Elaine. Each grumbling about one thing or another.

Before Mika could brag, she heard footsteps, then a thud. She looked over to see Zen, bowing with his blade in front of him.

"Onii-chan?" Mika asked.

"Please." Zen said, his voice hoarse. "Please, I need help."

Natalia scoffed. "You tried to kill us the other day. Why would we help you?"

"Kaida…" Zen replied, looking up to Natalia, revealing the tears in his eyes. Even Mika was shocked at that. "They… they took Kaida."

There was silence. Natalia, as usual, was the first to recover. "No." She replied. "I won't help you. You're on your own."

Her crew looked away, all pitying him, but agreeing with their captain.

Mika jumped from the railing and pulled Zen to his feet. "I'll help." She replied. "I think it's about time I left this crew anyways."

"Mika?" The others yelled. Silhouette was about to say something, but Natalia put her hand up.

"She just won her freedom, remember? Let her go." Natalia turned her back, walking back to the ship. "We're leaving tomorrow. Goodbye, Mika."

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

There was silence on the Pride the next day. They didn't even wait for their breakfasts to settle. Even Silhouette wouldn't shout orders on how to turn the ship around, but that wasn't missed. Besides, they knew what to do.

They didn't know why they were mourning the loss of a girl who wasn't part of the crew. Heck, she was completely annoying! All she did was attract trouble, why did they need her? She was unsanitary, she never ate with the crew, she never slept in the bed Natalia gave her and she only took two or three outfits the crew had bought her. She was completely ungrateful!

Then why were they mourning?

She wasn't dead. She wasn't gone forever… Well, that was debatable, but no one wanted to think Mika wouldn't come back.

It was like loosing a bracelet you'd worn for a whole year straight. It wasn't a critical loss, but… it was missed.

Natalia was cold and distant the next day, sitting alone at the picnic table thinking about whatever seemed to cross her mind. Ellie and Silhouette felt guilty. They'd always acted as if Mika were nothing but a burden when really she was the strongest of probably all of them.

They shouldn't have let her go.

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

"Onii-chan, how much longer?" Mika asked, laying on the roof of the cabins.

Zen shrugged. "This is a big sea. We may have to catch up with them at the next island."

Mika sighed. She hated small vessels like this. There was no place to hide. No crawl spaces, no nothing. There wasn't even a crow's nest! Of course, hiding from one of the few men she affectionately referred to as 'onii-chan' wasn't necessary. She just liked knowing no matter what the circumstances, if she absolutely needed to, she could disappear.

"Why'd you come?" Zen asked, looking over the sea.

Mika cocked an eyebrow. "To help Kaida-chan."

"You didn't want to leave them." Zen stated. "You wanted to stay for the next three islands, and maybe even the three after that. You should've stayed."

"Onii-chan needed my help." Mika replied.

Zen shook his head. "It's not that simple. You gave up something great. They could've been the ones you were looking for."

Mika looked away as Zen turned to meet her gaze. That was the upside of being able to disappear. The upside she was currently missing greatly.

"Why did you look so hard, just to turn and run from them?" Zen asked.

Mika shook her head.

"Why do you even want to be a pirate? Why can't you just go home and live a normal life?"

Mika shook her head faster.

"Mika, why did you throw everything away?"

Mika finally snapped. "I DON'T REMEMBER!" She shrieked. She flipped over the roof into the cabins and locked herself in Kaida's room.

Zen didn't follow her. He knew better. It was rare for Zen to get in a state like his current one. Too distraught to care for anyone else's pain.

And with a target as big as Mika…

He shook his head, the guilt already beginning to settle. The worst of it would come when Mika returned, smiling and happy like nothing had ever happened. She'd come out again, ready to fight for Kaida. Ready to fight for Zen.

And if he tried to apologize, she'd pretend she didn't remember the conversation. Just like she pretends not to remember her past.

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

"Onii-chan! A ship!" Mika yelled out, happily. Zen had been right in his assumption- the girl had made a total mood three-sixty.

Zen hid in the shadows of his small vessel. "A pirate ship? Is it theirs?"

Mika nodded. "Kaida's tied to the mast. Remember the plan?"

"Of course."

"Then give me two minutes." Mika said. She launched herself off the boat- a stupid move for a Devil Fruit user- but caught a fishing net decoratively hanging from the back of the ship. From there, she scampered on deck and hid herself wherever.

Zen pulled out his blade, then managed to get aboard himself.

The deck was empty. Kaida, as Mika had revealed moments ago, was tied to the mast, gagged, but frantically shaking her head no. She was warning him to go back. Zen looked in both directions, but knew no one would pop out until he tried to cut his sister free.

So he humored them.

He took three steps and an army of pirates swarmed out, predictably, with weapons drawn.

Zen gave one swing with his blade, knocking four men overboard and severely injuring at least ten. The pirates hesitated. Zen raised his blade again as an effective taunt, luring over thirty men to their deaths. But there were probably over two hundred men on this vessel.

"Stop!" A man yelled.

Zen turned to see a sight he'd predicted.

The captain was holding a butcher knife to Kaida's throat. He pulled away to make a big show of murdering Kaida, when the blade simply disappeared to a purple streak.

The captain blinked at his now-empty hand and looked up to see it poking at his forehead, in the hands of Mika Aida.

The man's eyes widened, and Mika turned back to Zen. "Don't loose focus, onii-chan! It's not over yet!" She grinned, tossing the knife overboard and kicking the man in the face, hard enough to send him through the wall of the kitchen.

Zen nodded and sliced through the first few lines, but soon both he and Mika were surrounded in what seemed like a hopeless situation.

Then someone cleared their throat, stealing everyone's attention.

"I'd like you to know," Natalia said, pointing a condemning finger at Zen, "we're here for Mika. And the kid. Not. You."

With that, there was a whole new fire added to the mix as the Electric Devils jumped aboard. Jonathan unveiled his new blade, taking out enemies like a weed eater mowing the lawn. Elaine, on the opposite side of the ship, was actually pretty ruthless herself. Only, she wouldn't kill people, she'd knock them overboard and leave them at the mercy of the sea. Ellie, still in the Pride's crows nest, was firing shots from a distance, covering all her nakama, including Zen and Mika. Silhouette was keeping the Pride on course, feeling she wasn't necessary in the battle (actually, she was kind of afraid of big guys with big swords). Mika was jumping through with ease, often using enemies as stepping stones. Natalia would round up large groups of men at once with her chain and execute them all at once, leaving them a toasty brown color.

With the weaker underlings done for, Zen put his blade to the captain's throat once more.

"H-h-hey! You don't… you don't want to kill me! It won't do you any good! I'm weak! Spineless, actually! You wouldn't gain a thing!" He sputtered. "S-spare me and I'll let you take my large pile of gold!"

Natalia raised an eyebrow. "Actually, we were already planning on taking that as payment for helping out a bounty hunter."

The captain started sweating heavily and backed into a corner. Zen followed, a demonic look in his eyes the whole time. "You tried to kill my sister. And you wanted to kill me."

"It's nothing personal, really, just-"

In one smooth motion, Zen slashed through the man's neck and turned his back, letting the cowardly captain fall into the ocean. A second time, he raised the blade and cut Kaida's ropes.

"No 'thank you'?" Natalia asked. "You know, you would've been toast without us."

Zen remained silent, undoing his sister's bindings.

"Say something, dammit!" Natalia ordered.

"You're annoying." Zen replied, looking back at the girl. "You're annoying, you're stupid, and you think I'm stupid." He glared at her. "But you've passed the judgment. Just take your gold and leave before I change my mind."

"Well, you're no fun." Natalia said, wiping the blood off the end of her barb with her shirt.

"You did say you came here to help Mika." Zen said.

"And the kid." Natalia said. "Kaida, right? Is she okay?"

"Fine." The little girl answered. "Thank you for your help, Natalia, I'm indebted to you."

"Nope." Natalia replied, giving her head a quick shake. "The way I see it, if your brother killed the captain, the gold is his. What's his is yours, but we're stealing it, so that makes us even."

"Does it count as stealing if we're letting you take it?" Kaida asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"Doesn't matter." Natalia replied, sticking her tongue out.

Mika appeared, out of nowhere as usual.

"Are you coming back?" Natalia asked.

Mika looked at her feet.

"Yeah, she is." Zen replied, pushing her forward. "'Cause there's no room for her on our ship."

Natalia nodded happily and started to help her nakama load up the gold in their ever-expanding treasury.

"Zen." Kaida said, her face shadowed by her bangs.

Zen looked at his sister questioningly.

"We don't have a ship."

Zen was about to argue when he saw about thirty pirates crying as their stolen vessel sunk.

Natalia, ready to set sail on the Pride again. She looked at the pair who were watching their ship sink with total apathy.

"Well?" She asked.

Both looked towards her.

"We're not going to wait forever. Are you getting onboard or what?"

The pair exchanged a look, shrugged, and boarded the Adeline's Pride.

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

"Onii-chan." Kaida said, joining Zen at the railing of the Pride. "It seems since we've gotten on this ship all Natalia's looking for is a chance to throw you off."

Zen nodded once. For a while, a comfortable silence passed between the two.

"Something's bothering you." Zen stated.

Kaida nodded once. "I've been thinking. I don't think… I don't think I want to be a bounty hunter anymore."

Zen looked at his sister. Her long blond hair floated about her face. Her blue eyes that matched his own so well were narrowed at the sunset. "I understand."

"But… I don't know how else to survive in this world…" Kaida clenched her fists. "What will we do?"

"That's easy!" A voice said from behind, making Zen brace himself. "Become a pirate!"

The ex-bounty hunters turned, facing Natalia.

The girl was grinning ear to ear. "Well? If you've got nowhere to go… besides, if you're nakama, then I'd trust you not to kill anyone else on my ship."

Zen rolled his eyes, letting them meet his sister's. She was looking up at him expectantly.

He released a breath. "You decide."

Kaida grinned. "Yes!"

Natalia grinned wider, if possible. "Great! Now, you two have to help me get Mika to join, okay?"

Zen scoffed. "We couldn't if we tried."

"Mika will only give up her freedom when she feels comfortable with it." Kaida said. "She's only willingly committed herself with one crew."

"She has?" Natalia asked. "Who?"

"ONII-CHAN!" Mika called, "Let's play a game, onii-chan!" She said, swinging onto Zen's shoulders. "Please?"

Zen smiled. "What kind of game?"

Mika shrugged. "Come on, come on, let's play!"

Natalia smiled, watching as Mika started her game. She looked back to her newest nakama and smiled. "Kaida?"

She smiled softly. "It seems Mika-chan would rather keep to herself."

~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~

"Hey, Jonathan, when did you get a second sword?" Elaine asked, walking out of the kitchen and coming to a stop in front of him when she saw him polishing a familiar blade.

"Hm?" Jonathan asked. "Oh, on the last island. I went back to one of the stores and they said someone had just sold it and paid for it for me."

"Eh?" Elaine bent forward, looking at it. The metals were cleanly polished down to the emerald dragon, and that familiar hilt- "The Emerald Dragon!" Elaine yelled, pointing at it.

"Huh? How'd you know it's name?" Jonathan asked.

Elaine started sweating. "I, uh, I don't… I don't know… there's an emerald dragon in the… thing… I just… it was a guess…"

Jonathan raised an eyebrow. "Elaine, are you okay? You're acting weird."

"I'm fine!" Elaine lied. _I never thought I'd see that sword again…!_

Zen heard their argument and walked over. "Elaine, I see you built the sword I designed."

Elaine froze, looking at Zen, hair shadowing her eyes.

"You designed this?" Jonathan asked, holding up the sword, he looked to Elaine, "And you built it?"

Zen nodded and Elaine shrugged.

Jonathan looked at it, then up at it's creators. "It's a great sword, thank you."

Zen smiled.

"By the way, Zen-kun, weren't you playing with Mika?" Elaine asked.

He nodded. "Hide and Seek. She'll realize I'm not looking for her soon enough."

Jonathan laughed but Elaine frowned. "How cruel…"

Zen pointed up. "She's in the crow's nest."

Mika shot out of the crawl space between the roof and the cabins. "You're wrong! You lose, onii-chan!"

Zen shrugged, walking off with the little pest on his shoulders saying, "Your turn, onii-chan! Your turn!"

oo~~O~~oo~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~oo~~O~~oo~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~oo~~O~~oo

Thanks for reading!

For anyone who caught it, ten points again. The Stone Temple Pirates were based of the band 'Stone Temple Pilots' because I, for the life of me, could not think of a pirate crew name, so I cheated and looked at what was on the TV screen.

*Yawn* It's five a.m. here. So, for some reason, I decided I'd get on my computer where the bright, bright, bright screen will burn images into my poor, poor brain and kill brain cells and then the snake that was crawling up my back door the other day (Yes, you read me, it was CRAWLING up my BACK EFFING DOOR) can come and eat my face in my sleep. Because I'm fairly certain that was it's inspiration to break the laws of gravity with my back door. Oh, and I googled it. IT'S NOT SUPPOSED TO FREAKING HAPPEN. I googled "Can snakes climb up glass?" and the site was like, "No, if you see that they're leaning on the glass." and I was like, screaming into the computer, "WELL WHAT THE EFF DO I DO? A SNAKE IS DEFYING GRAVITY WITH MY BACK DOOR!"

...I feel so betrayed. Oh, and scared out of my effing mind. What do you think, kind reviewers? Should snakes be able to climb back doors? (Answer: no.)

Okay, okay, I'm done ranting. That snake just scared the shiz out of me is all. Well, review. You don't have to mention the snake, I'll get my stepdad to hunt that son of a popsicle stick down. (Sick Puppies: You're going down starts playing) *Yawn* Night night. *collapses from computer overdose and snake-induced heart attack.*

Bye!


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